Cubicity
by crazyman185
Summary: What if our hero met a certain invisible girl at the entrance exam? Follow Izuku as he gains a group of friends after meeting Tooru and learns that one does not need to see someone to see the beauty in them. This is primarily a slice of life story that focuses on character interactions between canon. First non-harem Izuku x Tooru fic. Chapter 21 is beyond the current anime episode.
1. I talked to an invisible girl!

Chapter 1: I talked to an invisible girl?!

Izuku Midoriya was staring at the front of the U.A. Hero Academy feeling a bit woozy.

The wannabe hero had arrived with some minutes to spare after making a mad dash home to take a quick shower, grab his backpack, and take a mind-numbing forty minute train ride to school. Just three hours before he had just finished his grueling ten months of training to prepare his body to become the vessel for the quirk One for All. The teen had done nearly a year of acrobatics exercises and intense physical labor cleaning a trash-ridden beach for his hero idol All Might.

And what was his reward for his efforts? A strand of his mentor's hair in his stomach.

Today was the practical portion of the entrance exam. Izuku was not worried about the written portion, even though he felt he would barely pass it, but the practical exam was a different beast. It would require daring feats of strength, dexterity, and mastery of one's quirk that most potential students would have had for over a decade to work with. Izuku had received his quirk today, and the only instructions on how to use it from his mentor were to, "Clench your butt and let your heart cry out saying SMASH!" Midoriya wished he had more to go with.

It didn't help Izuku's childhood friend, err bully, maybe frenemy; well, either way, Katsuki Bakugo had just seconds ago threatened him with death. Okay, the hotheaded teen probably just meant to threaten him with physical pain for having dared arrived to take the exam, but that still wasn't a good thing. So now repressed feelings of being abused and feeling useless from his past dealing with the explosive quirk user and other bullies were plaguing Izuku's mind as well. These thoughts were the final tipping point. In the back of the throat, Izuku could taste it, what remained of his breakfast. There wasn't time; he had to find a bathroom. What strength he could muster brought him to a decent sprint as he frantically tried to find a washroom. After two minutes sprawling around the campus grounds, he found one.

But Izuku didn't make it. Just a few steps from the men's door, so close. Usually, after upheaving, Midoriya would feel better; it's the typical reaction he thought. But today was different, still having a spinning head and tears in his eyes from a combination of the burning feeling in his legs and lungs as well as racing thoughts of what to do from having puked on the grounds of his dream school. He had also saddened because he up-chucked the breakfast his mother had worked so hard to make for him on such a short notice as he came barreling into the household just hours ago. Knees to the ground and arms clenching some grass, Izuku tried to get it together. Just a few minutes to collect himself and clean his mess then he would head to introduction ceremony, Izuku told himself.

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening came from behind. Seconds of silence passed as the boy's mind raced with excuses to say if questioned on his current position. He even repositioned himself to try and hide his handiwork laid bare on the grass in front of him. But what came next completely threw such thoughts outside his head.

"Are you trying to imitate a cow or something? Or maybe a goat," came a feminine giggle.

Everything froze in the Midoriya's mind. Oh, it just had to be a girl. Positive interactions with the opposite gender outside his mother was a rarity for the teen. Minus random strangers, he really couldn't think of any. Memories of she-devils in his classes exploiting Izuku's inability to fight back came flooding back. His classmates were teasing that no women would ever be interested in a quirkless like him, to live life alone. Holding back tears, the boy quickly shook his head but kept it facing away from whoever was behind him.

She then asked, "So just taking a breather or something? I mean I guess today is a big life-changing deal." Quick successions of nods came from Izuku. In a seemingly not convinced tone, the mysterious girl asked another question, "You sure everything is alright?" Midoriya took a few moments but eventually gave a weak and shaky thumb up with his right hand. "Ok then, if you're sure." The voice sounded as though they didn't believe a word he said but quickly changed her tone a more helpful tone. "Better hurry though; I think they will lock the doors soon as the exam is about to start!"

The soon to be a late hero in training waited a minute till after he heard the pitter patters of her footsteps fade away. Taking a deep breath, he sat up and went into the men's room to grab some paper towels and clean up his mess. With that taken care of, Izuku ran to the front doors just in time with a small smile on his face. And a thought ran through the boy's mind despite what was about to happen next.

"I talked to a girl!"

(He didn't actually talk)

* * *

A lot had happened at the exam that occurred last week.

Midoriya was still trying to take it all in. A tall teen with glasses gave him various lectures on his "supposed" misbehavior and unwanted presence brought back detested throwbacks of to his previous schools that he would rather avoid thinking about. The panicked state Izuku was in as he tried to score points during the practical still gave him the shivers. The feeling of seeing "the thwomp" bearing down on him and the other participants was a part of a few nightmares in the past few days.

The worst of it all, however, was the lack of contact with All Might. Sure the possibility that the number one hero might be regretting his decision of choosing Izuku dangled in his head, but he just wanted to talk to the pro hero. Midoriya didn't want some info on how he did, just something, even negative feedback; he just wanted someone hero related to talk to. He loved spending time with his mother, but as someone whose quirk wasn't ever suited for hero work, it would be hard to relate his troubles of the hero-biz with her.

Izuku had only told his mother about the one positive outcome of the exam. Destroying "the thomwp" which in turn recused the gravity-defying girl from injury who then saved him from falling to his death afterward. One for All had saved Izuku some dignity in the end, minus the thrashed arm he got from using his quirk for the first time. This made his mother almost faint when he came home with a sling over his arm that afternoon. Typical of his mom, but still worried the boy nonetheless. He truly was glad All Might had pushed him so hard during the training. Izuku shuttered at the idea of what could have happened to his body if he wasn't as trained as he was. The thoughts of a "what if scenario" of a missing limb made Izuku cringe a bit.

Of course, all these worries melted away when the letter from U.A. came.

* * *

It was lunchtime on the first day for first-year students taking the hero course at U.A.

Yes, Izuku Midoriya had passed. He was here.

His first class with his homeroom teacher was, interesting. While seeing the hero Eraserhead in the flesh blew the boy's marbles, the blunt style of his teaching while at first felt extremely intimidating, had pushed Izuku to come up with a slightly less destructive way of using his quirk. Instead of a broken arm, only a finger was thrashed. And for that alone, he was incredibly thankful. Izuku wasn't used to the feeling of self-induced pain; he was used to others dishing it out on him both physically and mentally. This new pain he had to endure required the healing help from the school's nurse and also well-known pro hero, Recovery Girl. The teen hated the feeling of having to rely on her, now twice, and he could tell the older woman was already showing some disdain for his injuries. If that was more because of him or All Might, he couldn't tell.

But that was the past, and this was now. And now the problem was something he forgot he had to experience in his pervious school on a daily basis. Where was he to seat himself during lunch? The obvious and natural choice was just to sit alone like he always did. And maybe get asked to move to another table a few times. He had a quirk now, things would be different, right? This was a new place, with new people he had almost no history with! Ok minus an obvious blonde haired teen who was giving Izuku dagger-like stares from across the cafeteria. He wanted to try and make some friends for once. Before he could ponder this thought any longer, however, the answer to this dilemma came from an unlikely source that would baffle the teen for the rest of the day.

From his left, Izuku heard, "Hey puke-boy, need a seat?"

Izuku recognized that voice, even though it was over a month ago since he last heard it. And puke-boy? His head sulked into his shoulders as he realized his poor attempt to hide his predicament had failed. He slowly turned to see a table with a small circular table with six chairs, but with only one occupant. Or did it? There was definitely someone there. But Izuku had to double take to make sure what he was seeing was real because all he saw was a floating school girl's uniform waving its sleeve at him.

The girl continued, "Trouble finding someone to have lunch with? I got plenty of room over here!"

No visible head. No visible arms or hands. No visible legs.

Izuku Midoriya whispered to himself, "I talked to an invisible girl?!"

(Still, doesn't count as talking)

* * *

 **My gosh. I actually just wrote and uploaded this. I mean it's a short first chapter, but hey I did it! Promise the next few will be like twice as long!**

 **I went to sleep the night before writing this chapter wondering how an Izuku x Tooru fic would work. I then did a lot of driving the next day (picking up groceries and I picked up a baby western hognose snake as a pet, yeah I'm weird) and spent most of it brainstorming this story.** **Once I got to a computer, a few hours of typing later, chapter one was typed and I had an outline for like the next five chapters ready as well.**

 **Sorry if my style of writing is different from what you are used to seeing, where I left out the exact scenes from the manga. I have read** **so many fics with this series, and so many are WORD per WORD just copies of what happened in the manga with slight changes. We all know how the events happened in the manga/anime. I want to focus on the time between the set pieces of the main story. Unless there are changes that I wish to address that I can't write in a summary, then don't expect many retellings of manga scenes from me.**

 **I'd say a great inspiration for me writing this, and some of the ideas I came up with are thanks to an excellent writer who is currently writing two amazing Izuku x Mina fics,** **QuirkQuartz (formerly known as 123pearlshipping).** **I have not seen anything that comes close to his level of writing for this series, minus Nucleophile's slow-burn Izuku x Tsuyu fic (even if it hasn't updated in a while). So if you're reading this, thanks, ya'll are awesome.**

 **Oh and the title's purpose? That will be addressed way later.**

 **For the first couple chapters, expect a weekly release every Sunday.**

 **By the way got problems with the fic?** **Please tell me via reviews (I answer all of them); it's my first and probably only one I'll write, so open the floodgates. I wanna learn!**


	2. Enter the Stealth Heroine

Chapter 2: Enter the Stealth Heroine

Izuku sat across the mystery girl mostly as a necessity. If he had ignored her it would only have drawn unwanted attention to him. Plus it sorta solved his dilemma of where to sit but made a new one. Who was this girl?

"Took you long enough. Any longer and I would have thrown something at you," the female huffed.

Midoriya quickly responded, "W-What, why? Did I d-do something w-wrong?" But wait, he did. Izuku puked all over the school grounds, and now the boy knew he wasn't able to hide the fact. Izuku then spoke at almost run-on speeds; "I'm s-sorry about the w-week before. P-Please don't t-tell anyone! I-I already have had enough p-panic attacks as is a-around here. And-"

"Woah, slow down chatterbox," the girl interrupted.

Midoriya again was surprised and said, "Eh?"

The female raised one of her arms, probably pointing upwards as if to make a point, Izuku thought. "I only called you puke-boy so you would recognize me, I mean you never did turn around and see who I was when I spoke to you that day. Besides, I'm not gonna gossip over something as disgusting as throw up, meeeeh." Izuku swore she stuck out her tongue after her explanation, but he couldn't be sure.

The invisible girl continued, "And another thing, us losers gotta stick together."

Midoriya whined, "L-Losers?"

The female gave a drawn-out sigh, "Ah man, don't tell me you don't recognize me too." In a defeated tone she continued, "I guess it can't be helped, it's been my schtick for a long time." Izuku pondered, what was "schtick"?

"We're in the same class, bub. I'm in seat sixteen, two seats in front of you. We both did terrible on today's Quirk Apprehension Test, remember? Though I guess you did worse than me, that's not saying much since I placed in eighteenth," she said cheerfully.

Midoriya was speechless for a bit, again. Why was she not upset at her test results? Did she not want to be here? Did she know that the threat of expulsion if they scored last was a bluff? Did she just not care? Izuku wanted to process this question more but noticed the floating uniform in front of him tilt to the side a bit after the long silence.

"S-Sorry, I sometimes o-over think things and t-today's been going a m-mile a m-minute you see. I'm still s-surprised that I am here and all, and then to p-place in l-last place, hasn't helped my of c-confidence," the boy stuttered.

"That was a cheap shot done by caterpillar-sensei. You were the only one he used his quirk on," the girl fumed.

Izuku thought, Caterpillar-sensei? He then recalled back to his homeroom teacher's introduction. He did look somewhat like what she described when wrapped in his sleeping bag. The thought got a small chuckle out of the boy.

"Ha, I snuck a smile outta you. I knew I could," the girl beamed.

The female's behavior baffled Izuku, but he continued, "Cat-I mean Eraserhead-sensei was just trying to t-teach me something about my q-quirk, and I did learn something v-valuable. So I am not m-mad at him."

The boy's near mistake in his speech made the girl giggle a bit. "If you say so. Oh, by the way, I'm Tooru Hagakure," the now not a mystery girl proclaimed.

"O-oh, well my n-name is Iz-," Midoriya tried to say.

"Izuku Midoriya, I know. I'm sure the whole class knows. It's kind of hard not to remember your name when Caterpillar-sensei dragged you in front of his face with his cloth thingy and said your name so stern and loud. I swear he looked like a vampire pulling in his victim for a meal. It was a bit spooky," Tooru finished. This girl's imagination sure was something, Midoriya analyzed.

Hagakure reached out one of her arms and said, "Anywho, it's nice to meet ya Midoriya-san." And thus began Izuku's panic attack anew. Sure he had been talking to a girl.

(Actually true this time.)

But now he had an opportunity to hold hands with this girl. Okay, a handshake wasn't holding hands, but it was close enough to cause the boy's heart to go into a rush. This was too good to be true, he couldn't screw this up. He had to go for it. It's just a handshake, what was the worst that could happen? Midoriya weakly replied as he brought up his arm to shake, "N-nice to meet you too Hag-." The boy's heart sank. Nothing could go wrong he thought. Then why was he holding a fist? More silence. The boy groaned internally, why was there always silence?

Tooru cleared her throat, "Oh, um sorry, was going for a fist bump, seeing how you are a boy and thought that would be more appropriate, but I guess you can't see my hand. Silly me." Izuku tried to salvage the awkwardness and began to shake her fist. The boy was so glad he couldn't see Hagakure's face to know whatever expression it held. But her response again surprised him. "Heh, we suck at tests, and now we have a lame handshake, er fist shake. See we are friends!"

"Friends? But we just-," Midoriya tried to finish.

"Just means we got a lot to learn about each other buddy," Tooru proclaimed. The bell then rang. Lunch was over.

"See ya in class puke-boy. And don't worry, that's the last I'll call you that, maybe," the invisible girl teased as she got up to leave.

Izuku looked down at his plate. He hadn't even eaten one bite. He sighed as he brought a palm to his face.

* * *

Pain.

Physical pain.

Self-induced physical pain.

It had happened again. The following day was 1-A's first class with All Might. Indoor anti-personnel battle training, that's what the pro hero had called it. Maybe Izuku did this because All Might was watching. Maybe it was because he was paired with Uraraka. But he mostly felt it was because he was put up against Bakugo. This was an opportunity to prove to the blonde firecracker that he was a student of U.A. and he deserved to be there. Midoriya never got to see the outcome though, as he fainted before he could see the results of the exercise. He had again thrashed a limb using his quirk to blow a hole in the ceiling to give Ochako an opening to grab the objective. With the other, he took the brunt of Katsuki's quirk as a fake out. He hoped it had worked.

Izuku had been asleep for some time in the nurse's sickroom. But something was bothering him as of late. Something had poked his face. Midoriya thought it was nothing at first but after multiple pokes of his face he couldn't take it any longer and opened his eyes.

"Oh good, you're finally awake. I was this close to throwing something at ya bunny-san," came a familiar voice.

Eyes still groggy the boy looked up to see a floating school uniform standing next to his sickbed. Yup, that's her, Izuku thought. Though the nickname the girl had given Midoriya should have been a dead giveaway at who she was before looking at her. He guessed she was referring to his hero costume. The "ears" were supposed to be an homage to All Might's hairstyle, but the reference went over Hagakure's head. The boy whined as he asked, "You would throw something at an injured person?"

"Maybe like a pillow. Ya know something soft, I was thinking my shoe the other day, but that's an entirely different situation," Tooru stated.

"Throwing a shoe at someone across a cafeteria could have started a food fight you know," Izuku said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, that would have made for an awesome first day of school," Hagakure chuckled.

"But then we would not have been able to, you know, t-talk," Midoriya stated.

"This brings me to why I am here today. You weren't at lunch. And it was soo boring to eat alone. So I thought, dominatrix-sensei never takes the role so I should be ok playing hooky during her history lesson to see ya," the female chuckled.

Izuku brought his left hand up to his head. He pondered, does she have a nickname for everyone? Midnight's hero costume and personality was quite, something though. " The sleepy boy then said, "Um, H-Hagakure-san it's only our second day in class. Midnight-sensei might not have taken role yesterday because who would want to miss the first day here? Besides, you are in the front row, even if she somehow doesn't notice your absence everyone in class would. Especially Ida-san."

"You would think that but trust me it won't be a problem," Hagakure dryly stated.

This statement piqued Midoriya's interest, as he remembered something similar from yesterday's talk.

Ah man, don't tell me you don't recognize me too.

I guess it can't be helped, it's been my schtick for a long time.

Izuku wanted to ask, but he wanted to not be blunt about it. Instead, he asked, "Shouldn't we be worried that Recovery Girl-sensei might walk in here?"

Tooru was quick to respond, "Oh Granny? She was snoozing in the front office with headphones in her ears. She won't be a problem. I bet you are the only student she has seen since school just started." Before Midoriya could point out the flaws in her plan his back was starting to ache, making him push the thought away for the time being. He needed to move. The boy tried to sit up but both his arms screamed at him not to. "Hey there, am I that much of a bore," she joked.

"Was just trying to get into a more comfortable position. Still hurts to move through," he groaned. After waiting a few seconds for the pain to subside the boy continued, "So if you don't mind me asking, how did your battle training go?"

Tooru happily explained, "Oh me and my partner lost spectacularly. The other team found our hiding spot pretty quickly. Popsicle boy then froze my partner, and the ice exposed my position via my footprints."

Izuku responded with, "You seem quite pleased about failing."

"Oh it's fine, it was a lesson by All Might-sensei. And besides, I got to meet someone new. My partner was neat, mind if I bring him to our table tomorrow? I think he is in need of some friends too," she said in a begging tone.

The green haired boy noted that she didn't give a nickname to his mentor but then said, "Um Hagakure-san you don't need my permission, but of course it's okay."

Tooru seemed to make pump fist as a sign of victory and said, "I just wanted to ensure it was okay and all, didn't know if you wanted to keep our lunches exclusive or something." Izuku pondered the thought, was that an option? No, they just met, she's just teasing him again, right? Even then, having another guy at the table might calm his nerves a bit. "So you wanna hear how you did," Tooru asked. Midoriya grumbled a bit, but nodded, expecting the worst. "You let your personal grudge get the best of you, and you did too much damage to an indoor environment," Tooru said in a sarcastic serious tone.

Izuku asked, "Who were you trying to imitate there?"

The invisible girl responded with, "I don't remember her name, it was really long. She was tall, had long black hair in a bun, and some big boobs. Either way, All Might-sensei had asked us how your match went and she responded with what I just said." Midoriya seemed to recall the student Tooru mentioned with the revealing hero outfit. His face blushed a bit at the invisible heroine's last detail. Tooru was quick to say, "But hey you won, so that's all that matters right!"

Winning wasn't everything though, Izuku thought. "I could have done better though. I did let my past with K-Kacchan interfere," the boy sighed.

Perplexed Hagakure said, "Kacchan? You have some history with that firecracker?"

"Since before he got his quirk, so yeah. We got a lot of, h-history," Izuku struggled to say.

Tooru then started asking multiple questions, "Doesn't sound like any fun times in that history of yours. Why did you give him a cute nickname if he's an asshole to you and almost everyone he meets? Is he a rival or something? Or did you use to be friends? If you were friends, what stopped that? Did he steal your girl?"

Again that imagination of hers. The boy shook his head, "N-No, n-nothing like that. We were pals back in daycare and I always knew he was a good person. Kaachan was just not the best at expressing it once he got his quirk. I admire the strength of his quirk and his dedication to wanting to be the best at everything. But he just belittles those below him, and since I was quirkless, I was at the bottom and an easy target I think."

Tooru took a step forward and said, "Quirkless?"

Midoriya froze. One for All was supposed to be the secrets of all secrets. Sure he hadn't said anything about his actual quirk but stating he used to be quirkless could open up more questions about it. The boy had to think of a response, fast. "Y-yeah, I was a l-late bloomer is a-all," he quickly stated.

Hagakure was silent for a bit before inquiring, "How late?"

Izuku gave pause, might as well tell her the truth at this point, he thought. "The m-morning before the e-entrance exam," he said slowly.

"Wait, doesn't that mean you signed up for U.A. not knowing you had a quirk? Registration is many months in advance," she inquired.

Izuku was backed into another corner. How would he explain this? As the teen's mind raced, he thought back when he applied for the entrance exam before he ever met All Might.

It's just been my dream. Since I was little. And well, there's no harm in trying…

The boy breathed in and began with, "I've always wanted to be a hero. They're so cool, and they get to help people by saving lives every day. They make a quantifiable difference in the world. Something I can't be and do if I'm quirkless. I was so desperate to be a hero; I guess I applied hoping for something, and just got lucky my quirk manifested in the end." Midoriya wasn't lying; he was very fortunate. He did apply just because he could, and lady luck had shined on him in the form of a hulking hero that was his idol and now his mentor. Izuku looked back at the girl at his side.

Tooru had the sleeves of her shirt up to her face. "Just like a fairy tale, if you believe hard enough, anything is possible," she beamed. A small chuckle came out of the inheritor of One for All. He was glad the Hagakure had such a positive outlook on everything. Had she been a heavy thinker like himself, she might have pushed further about the origins for his quirk. Tooru continued with, "I guess that explains why you always get hurt when you use your quirk. Do you have a name for it yet?"

The boy responded with, "I still don't fully understand it, so I haven't thought that far yet." But Izuku thought he should think up a name for it. Not its actual name, he knew that, but they couldn't. He needed a false name for it, eventually. Izuku broke his train of thought as something else came to mind. He then inquisitively asked, "Hey, um what exactly is your quirk's name Hagakure-san?"

"Oh, well I call it Transparency! Not exactly meant for fighting but it's got plenty of other uses," she excitedly explained.

Wanting to know more, Izuku continued by asking, "Do you know how it works?"

Tooru groaned, "Eh, it's boring science mumbo jumbo."

The boy was quick to respond, "But I like boring science mumbo jumbo! Please?"

The girl sighed but spoke, "I don't remember that much, something about my skin being able to bend light or something. My dad went into more detail about it once, but I mostly zoned out during his explanation. That enough for you, Midoriya-san?"

Izuku responded, "So your skin can refract light around your body to the point that you are completely invisible."

Hagakure crossed her arms and said, "I guess. I mean it works, and that's all that matters to me."

Midoriya, hoping it wasn't odd to ask, slowly said, "You can turn it off, right?"

"Trust me, dude, I wish I could. But that's just how things are sometimes," Tooru exhaled.

Izuku roared, "That's terrible!" This caught Tooru off guard. She flinched at the boy's change in volume. "Ah, sorry." Izuku collected himself and continued, "It's just that means you haven't seen your face since you were a small child, right?"

Hagakure responded, "Oh it's fine Midoriya-san, I mean that was over a decade ago and-"

But the boy cut her off, "But don't you wanna know what you look like? What makes you, you?" Tooru didn't respond. Which got Izuku to rapidly apologize, "Sorry if I sounded pushy. I'm just trying to understand. Knowing me, that would be something I would ponder daily if I were in your position."

Hagakure chuckled a bit and then turned plus walked up to the window by the boy's side. Sometime past before she spoke again. The wait made Izuku think he had gone too far but didn't know what to do in the situation.

"Heh, you know where to push one's buttons," the girl finally said to break the silence. Tooru's arms came up to the windowsill, and she responded with, "You are somewhat right. When I was younger, the thought never bothered me. I mean, I had a neat quirk, and for a while, I was the talk at daycare and even when I started primary school. But things changed when I got older. Puberty started, and I got interested in how I looked for the first time. That's when we change the most right? But no matter what I do I'm still like this." Izuku face was quite red at this point. He thought the subject of a girl going through puberty would be a more sensitive subject. Or maybe that's just how open this girl was. It still confused the teen to no end. But he was glad that the girl had opened up to him, either way. The invisible girl gradually left the window and turned herself towards the bed. She continued the conversation again by saying. "I splurged there, sorry. But hey you revealed a bit about yourself, I should say something as well. I mean we are friends right?"

Izuku gave a decent smile in response. But the recent subject had brought back an earlier thought. A certain one that he thought would be too blunt to bring up at the time. Now was the time he thought, if ever today. The green haired boy then stated, "I do have one l-last question H-Hagakure-san. A f-few times, today and yesterday, you said you had a 'schtick' about people not noticing you, what's that a-about?"

Tooru asked, "Trying for a grand slam, huh? A bit bold don't ya think?"

Meekly, Izuku responded, "You d-don't have to a-answer, I was-"

"I'm just teasing dude, cool your jets," Tooru interrupted. There were a few moments of silence before she answered, "If you remember earlier, I said things changed when I got older. I mean yeah puberty was a big thing and all, but there was something else. Maybe it's because other people in my class started to get better at controlling their quirks so they forgot about mine. Maybe it's because people began to get over my invisibility quirk as being fresh and unique. For a while, I thought maybe it's some stupid secondary effect of my quirk, but that's just silly." Tooru paused then breathed in before continuing and said, "But either way, my classmates just started to not hang out with me, talk to me, or even notice my presence. It was slow, but eventually, even my tiny brain started to see, and it aggravated me."

She paused a bit to collect her thoughts before continuing. Midoriya recalled back to her response when he didn't know she was two seats in front of him during the first day of class. There was a hint of anger, a bit a disappointment, but she soon switched back to her usual bubbly self. Hagakure then continued, "I felt betrayed by my friends. But me getting mad about it never really helped and just drove them away even more, when I confronted them about it. So I thought what if I just stayed more positive about my situation? My change in behavior wasn't able to get my friends back, but I did at least lessen the distance between me and my former friends. And now I am in high school with new people that have I've never met before and already I have such a good friend like you Midoriya-kun."

Izuku's heart skipped a beat. Midoriya-kun? Things were moving too fast; the boy was having a hard time keeping up. "Y-you don't have to say my n-name like that H-Hagakure-san, we've only t-talked like t-three times," the boy said nervously.

Tooru rebuked his response with, "Gives you an idea of how bad my social life was in middle school, doesn't it? Plus you're different Midoriya-kun. I've never opened up to someone like this so quickly. Guess you got a way with words. Or maybe it's because you look so cute when you look surprised or confused. Which is quite often by the way." She walked to the end of Midoriya's sickbed and straightened up her skirt. "Well, I'm sure class is almost over. I should get going before granny comes back for a check-up. I will call us even after this for leaving me bored at lunch." She then made her leave.

And a few minutes passed Izuku sank back into his bed and only had one thought on his mind.

.

..

...

C-Cute!?

* * *

 **Some of you might be wondering, why Izuku x Tooru?**

 **To be honest, my favorite Izuku pairing is actually with Mina cause of their contrasting personalities. But it's been done; I mean it's not super popular, but it's been done. I never considered I would like a Mina pairing, but QuirkQuartz proved me wrong, but it's not something I think I could write about that he hasn't already explored. There were three girls however that I figured that would be interesting to write about, that I saw only in harem fics (which almost always turned me off, unless you are The World God Only Knows, and even then that ended with the best girl, Chihiro Kosaka). I read a neat one-shot of a possible Kyoka pairing, but after wracking my brain I couldn't think of much to write about that pairing (mainly cause of quirk was hard to write about). Momo was another possibility (her quirk is a goldmine for unique things to write about). The idea of a girl smarter than even Izuku could be fun to write, plus she was taller than him and could be a good source of humor. However, once I started considered Tooru, the scenarios that I could write with her just clicked.**

 **Writing Tooru has been a challenge though since she has so little showing in the manga. I think it's pretty much a joke at this point that she's invisible to the story. Unless she's being saved for some backstory in the future (which I will act accordingly if it fits what I write as I'm open to edits if the manga does something interesting enough). Tooru's personality does seem very similar to Mina, though she's a bit more bubbly and girlish (I mean did ya see her room?). So I hope you like my take on her, and again, I am open to criticism about how I write her.**

 **There will be more pairings in this story. One will be kind of tame; the other will be a curveball. Other characters outside the main six (which I will focus on introducing in 1-4 and 7), will pop in and out but the story but it will mainly be about this group of friends I am building up. I want to include All Might and Eraserhead as regular side characters at some point.**

 **Until then, see you next Sunday!**


	3. Enter the Martial Arts Hero

Chapter 3: Enter the Martial Arts Hero

Izuku was made his way through the halls of the school at the start of the day and was anticipating his next lunch with Tooru mainly out of curiosity. Who was her partner during the training from the day before? Once Midoriya found out his partner for the activity was Uraraka, it took all he could to keep his composure in front of the floating heroine that day. He had gotten somewhat used to Tooru's presence but Ochako he still felt nervous around. So he missed out on who was Hagakure's assigned partner. All he knew was that it was another male, like him. Midoriya hoped that whoever he was would be supportive in his plight in stressing out when interacting with Tooru. Especially, after what had happened yesterday afternoon. Tooru's blazing quick change to her honorifics when talking to Izuku and mentioning his nervous behavior as being cute put his emotions through the ringer. Was she just teasing again? Was it just a heat of the moment thing? Was she genuine? If so, why? How could him panicking seem cute to a girl? Were all girls like this? Or was this just unique to her? Girls seem complicated, is all he could conclude.

As Izuku's mind remained stuck on this thought, a hand was placed on his shoulder. A sharp but caring voice followed. "Midoriya-san is everything okay? Our classroom is the opposite way, and you'll be late for class if you don't make haste," suggested the glasses wearing Tenya Ida. He let go of Izuku's shoulder as he turned towards him. Ida then continued by noting, "Also, I don't know if you noticed, but you were breathing was rapid and heavy. You were also muttering something just seconds ago. Are you perhaps having trouble getting any sleep? Might I suggest some night time exercises that I do to help?"

While Tenya talked, it astounded Izuku how drastic a change his relationship with the tall teen compared to when they first met. The shorter teen attributed his actions in both the entrance exam and the first lesson with All Might to have considerably altered Ida's behavior when around him. Midoriya responded with, "Thanks for the concern, Ida-san but no, I have been sleeping fine lately. I-I was just r-remembering our t-training from yesterday. Um, so many things could have gone w-wrong during the exercise and I guess I was letting that thought get the b-best of me."

Tenya adjusted his glasses and commented, "Ah, I see. The idea of potential failure clouding the mind is indeed a frightening thought. But rejoice, in my opinion, you did exceedingly well with the training exercise. At first, I thought your plan was as hot-headed as my partner was, but yet again you surprised me and quickly allowed Uraraka-san to secure the objective."

"Than-," Izuku tried to respond but was grabbed by his speedy classmate.

Ida swiftly explained, "No time for thanks, Izuku-san, if we do not hurry, we will be late for class. And that simply will not do for either of us."

* * *

Lunch tray in his hands, Izuku made his way to the desired lunch table. As it came into view, he did not see any sign of Tooru but did recognize a classmate that was sitting there. Izuku gave a soft wave as he approached and said, "H-Hello, you're Ojiro-san, right?

The tailed boy smirked and said, "Heh, didn't expect Hagakure-san's friend to be our newly elected Class President. Please, take a seat."

Izuku was still processing his appointment as Class President just hours before. He had only won because of getting four votes, out of a class of twenty. Sure, it was because most of his classmates only voted for themselves but it didn't seem earned. As Midoriya sat down, he noticed a plate full of food on the other side of Mashirao. Izuku then asked, "So, where is Hagakure-san?"

Ojiro replied with, "You just missed her. She booked it to the cafeteria as soon as we got out of class so she could get food quickly and be sure I made it to the right table. I got here a few minutes ago but while we waited for you she was fidgeting around a bit." Mashirao sighed, "Poor girl. She needed to go the bathroom during class but wanted to make sure I got to this table. Unfortunately, Hagakure-san couldn't take it anymore, and she went to a bathroom after apologizing."

Izuku put a hand on the back of his head and laughed a bit, "Yep, that sounds like something she would do."

Both boys began eating their lunch as a way to pass the time until Tooru came back, but after a few minutes of waiting Ojiro broke the silence by asking, "Midoriya-san, if you don't mind me asking, how did you get roped into being here?"

Midoriya gave him puzzling look and said, "Do you mean coming to U.A. or having lunch with Hagakure-san?"

"The latter," the tailed teen quickly responded.

Izuku knew he did not want to mention his up-heaved breakfast from that day and to not over-complicate things only said, "I met her right before the entrance exam. Our first meeting was n-nothing much; we just exchanged a few w-words."

(For the last time you didn't say anything.)

Izuku continued, "She then called me over to this table on our first-day and," The boy then paused. What was the reason he wanted to continue to come to this table? He remembered at the time he only came over to not cause further embarrassment for himself as Tooru shouted the nickname from halfway across the cafeteria. But that explained then, not now. Sure, he had missed the meetup yesterday for obvious reasons. However, Tooru couldn't accept that and met him at the nurse's sickroom to chat. And boy, what a talk that was.

Ojiro raised an eyebrow at Izuku's silence and the creeping blush that was appearing on his face. Midoriya cleared his throat, "H-Hagakure-san gave the i-impression of wanting to be f-friends, which is something I've l-lacked for such a l-long time. I couldn't say n-no. Sorry if that sounds d-desperate."

Mashirao looked a bit surprised but answered, "No need to apologize. I mean, I came here today for the same reason. However, it was more the lack of knowing anybody here well enough to sit down with them, well minus Koda-san but that's complicated, versus having any friends at all like you." The boy's last few words changed to a sympathetic tone.

Izuku noticed the change in the tailed hero's voice, and it hit him how pathetic it must have sounded to say he had no friends and decided to change the subject quickly. "H-hey, your partner mentioned you both lost, pretty hard yesterday. What happened? I was unconscious at the time and Hagakure-san skipped on the details of it."

Mashirao groaned, "Yeah, it was very one-sided. Before we started I asked Hagakure-san if she had any strategy, she just said we'd play the waiting game. I would be the bait and then she would sneak behind and knock our opponents out. I liked the idea of staying together and holding down the room, her the rest was a bit lacking. She proceeded to take off her gloves and shoes so she could be fully invisible." Ojiro leaned in a bit and said almost in a whisper, "I don't know about you, but it still unnerves me that I had to work with a girl that has to be in the nude to take full advantage of her quirk. Even if she is invisible, it just doesn't seem ethical."

Izuku simply stared a bit and said, "W-Wait, what? She d-doesn't have a h-hero uniform?"

"Apparently not," Ojiro said bluntly.

Izuku hoped he didn't have to work with Tooru in the field anytime soon. He just wouldn't be able to function knowing he was alone with a naked girl. Invisible, but still naked. Again, hoping to change the subject, Midoriya rapidly said, "Hey s-so your q-quirk. That's a pretty big tail. Reminds me of a lion's tail, if it was thick."

Mashirao looked over at his tail and gave the extra appendage a bit of a twitch. He then and said with a grin, "Oh this? Yeah, it's quite strong and durable, though it's only good in close range combat. So, I decided if I were to be a hero I would need to learn some martial arts if to best use my quirk.

Izuku thought that explained why he wore a karate-like outfit as his hero uniform. Intrigued by this he asked, "So do you follow any particular martial arts disciplines?"

Ojiro's face lit up, and he happily explained, "Of course. I started with Aikido when I was young but got into Muay Thai when I was old enough."

Both these words were foreign to even Izuku, and before he could ask to know more, an ear-wrenching alarm sounded.

* * *

Afternoon classes were over. Izuku was sitting at his usual desk with Tooru in front of him turned to face her friends and Mashirao sitting in the desk on Midoriya's right. The invisible heroine was again denied a lunch with her new friends and demanded that they have a get together after school. They both agreed, and since it was convenient, they had it in their classroom.

Tooru began by whining, "Oh, of course, I just had to go to the bathroom near the school entrance." Both had been told before this point, at breaks between classes, that Hagakure had tried to go to the bathroom by the cafeteria but it was all occupied. As she was exiting the alternative bathroom the alarm for the level three security breach sounded and she got caught up in the chaos. Sure, it was just the media trying to get more scoop on All Might, but it had caused a decent panic in the school during lunch. Enough so that she wasn't able to get together with the two boys until class had started again.

Ojiro simply stated, "Could have been a lot worse. If it wasn't for our newest Class President, you might have been stampeded by everyone that was trying to leave the cafeteria."

Tooru responded in an annoyed tone, "I still cannot believe Midoriya-san gave up his position to Captain No Fun Zone, of all people!"

This got a chuckle out of Izuku. He had to admit that was a good nickname for Tenya. Midoriya had noticed that the girl would usually give a nickname to someone but would only mention it once. Minus him of course, he counted three times he was puke-boy. However, another thing he had noticed was Tooru had switched back to the previous honorific. Was it because she truly was just teasing him the day before? Or was it because they weren't alone here? Had she just changed her mind? Was she starting to get the hots for Ojiro? Wait why would he care if she did? They were all just friends, right? But, should he care?

Mashirao interrupted Tooru's fuming and Izuku's thinking by stating, "Hey now, let's be honest, the way that Ida-san handled the situation earlier in the cafeteria was leader material."

The stealth heroine angrily responded, "I wasn't in the cafeteria you dope, remember?"

Ojiro calmly replied with, "Still you heard what everyone else said in class; they supported Midoriya-san's decision and the idea of Ida-san being our leader to represent us. End of story. You lose this argument."

Tooru muttered, "Fine, but you only get a pass today because you have a big fluffy tail and you said I could squeeze it sometime during yesterday's training," This statement was news to Midoriya and did not help calm his mind from what he was previously thinking.

"I said you could touch it; I never uttered the word squeeze," the tailed hero proclaimed.

"Well, I changed our agreement because you couldn't see the benefits of all the cool stuff we could get away with if Midoriya-san was class president," Tooru argued.

Izuku interjected, "H-Hey now that's a-abuse of power H-Hagakure-san, right Ojiro-san?" Midoriya turned to the boy on his right only to see him deep in thought.

Mashirao then noted, "Hmm, I hadn't considered that." Ojiro sighed, then said, "Okay fine, you have a point, I'll let you squeeze my tail, gently, tomorrow."

Izuku turned to Tooru and said, "See I told y-, wait, what? You agree with her?"

Ojiro nodded. "I mean she's not wrong, we could pull off some neat things at school if you were there to cover things up."

Midoriya groaned, "I cannot believe this."

Mashirao agreed, "I cannot believe I didn't consider her angle on this."

Tooru finally joined back in by saying, "I cannot believe this was even up for debate. Glad you finally saw the light Ojiro-san."

Before Izuku was able to interject a sound rumbled in front of him. It was Tooru, and her stomach was growling.

Ojiro smirked a bit and said, "You never did eat lunch, huh?"

Hagakure apologized, "Oh, sorry guys, do you mind if I go get some snacks from a vending machine? I should only be a minute."

Mashirao laughed a bit, "Like when going to the bathroom was only going to take a few minutes?"

The invisible gal made her way to the door but stopped to say, "Just you wait, your tail is so getting so crushed by me tomorrow." The tailed teen simply just laughed it off as she left.

Izuku then asked, "Hey, why do you egg her on like that?"

Ojiro held up his hand as a fist but preceded to raise his index finger pointing up and explained, "First, I doubt Hagakure-san is strong enough to do anything to my tail, her quirk is invisibility not super strength, like you." His middle finger now extended itself, making a peace sign. "Two, she's easy to get a reaction from, and it's kind of hilarious." His ring finger now came up. "And three, it's all in good fun Midoriya-san, friends should be able to ruffle each other's feathers every once in a while, if they truly are friends."

Everything was happening so quickly to Izuku. Regular friendship was foreign to him ever since his playmates developed their quirks and he did not at the age of four. Midoriya had to work for months if not for years to make sure certain classmates of his just let him be and not bully him, while with others it was a lost cause. Here, he was meeting people that established meaningful bonds in just a matter of hours. It was just all so overwhelming at times. Izuku pushed this internal note to think about till later and thought back to his conversation with Mashirao just before the alarm sounded. He wanted to know more and asked, "Hey before the press broke in and sounded the alarm you mentioned some martial arts you've followed. Could you tell me more about them?

Ojiro seemed to ponder the thought for a second before responding, "Sure, but I'd like to know about your quirk before I do if you don't mind."

Midoriya was again stuck in a hard place. Be truthful but possibly reveal too much, or be reserved and give a half-ass answer? To keep his story straight amongst his friends, he decided to discuss his quirk with the same details he had told to Tooru.

After hearing what Izuku's quirk entailed, Ojiro responded with, "So basically your quirk makes you a glass cannon?

Midoriya shrugged, "I mean at the moment yeah. I'm hoping I can better control it so it's not so dangerous to use. Remember I'm still really new to having a quirk at all."

Mashiro nodded and said, "True, could also be why you got it at such a late age. Imagine having that kind of power as a four-year-old, and what kind of damage you could have done to yourself at such a young age."

Izuku hadn't thought about that. It made the boy appreciate it somewhat that such an ability was not bestowed on him at such a tender age. The sound of a door opening got both boys looking to see that Tooru was back with snacks. "That seems like an awful lot of junk food just for you Hagakure-san," the green haired teen stated.

Tooru laid her goods on Midoriya's desk and said, "Silly, that's because I got some for you boys too. I asked you both to stay here today. I should at least thank you in some way, no?" The girl returned to the desk in front of Izuku and asked, "So, what did I miss?"

Ojiro quickly responded, "Midoriya-san wanted to know more about my martial arts, but I asked if he could explain his quirk first before I would talk, which he did."

"You sure you two weren't gossiping? That would have been a lot more interesting," Tooru whined.

After opening and taking a sip of one of the sodas that Tooru had brought, Ojiro said, "Sorry, that's not my thing."

"Fine, just try to keep your explanation short Ojiro-san," Tooru said with her arms crossed.

Ojiro turned his head back to Izuku and began by saying, "As I said before, I began my martial arts training by practicing Aikido but switched to Muay Thai."

As Izuku grabbed some chips, he questioned, "Why did you switch styles?"

Mashirao scratched his head and said, "Well I kind of just did Aikido till I got older, they won't teach Muay Thai to kids until they are at least nine."

Tooru was surprised by this and asked, "Wait how young were you when you started doing martial arts training?"

Ojiro pondered the question a bit but eventually answered with, "Since I wanted to be a hero, so I guess seven. Before that, I just thought my quirk as an extra limb that could help with doing chores and stuff, like my dad's. But I suppose I got convinced by my peers that I should be a hero not long after I started primary school."

Izuku was moved by Ojiro's motivation at such a young age. That would mean the tailed hero had spent more than half his life training in the martial arts. What was Izuku doing at that age? Being bitter about his quirkless-ness and hiding his pain by watching videos of heroics by pro heroes like All Might. Sure, eventually he began channeling his energy into writing many of his observations into notebooks titled Hero Analysis for My Future, but it wasn't the same as over eight years of martial arts training.

"I quickly realized my quirk would require me to always be close range to an opponent, so learning martial arts seemed like the obvious thing to do. I spent a few weeks trying to decide on a style I wanted to learn with the help of my parents. I eventually chose Muay Thai but ran into the age issue. So while I waited to get older, I thought I would try the more traditional Aikido so I could just learn some basics of self-defense."

Hagakure stopped eating her chips to ask, "Couldn't you just have stuck with Aikido?"

Ojiro sighed, "I mean, I guess so, but it was just too traditional for what I wanted. Aikido has a lot of spiritual and philosophical training that I wasn't into. Plus, Aikido is more like caricatures of a fight than actual fighting. It lacks the realism of a true fight. All style no power." Izuku saw the tailed teen's logic. Heroes fought villains in the streets, not a dojo. Mashirao continued with, "Don't get me wrong, I appreciated the time I spent with the style. I learned a lot, my basic jabs and kicks, good stretching exercises, various fighting stances, the physical plus mental feeling in the flow of battle, and how to cool down my body after fighting or working out."

Tooru stepped in by saying, "Hey, I thought I said to keep this short."

Ojiro laid a hand on his chest and said, "Hey it's my passion, I live and breathe the arts of fighting. I can't just give a quickie note of what is my very being."

Izuku chipped in and said, "Well I think it's all fascinating, please continue Ojiro-san!"

Tooru seemed to shrug and admit defeat and said, "I can't argue with Midoriya-san when he has that kind of attitude. Continue if you must."

The tailed hero thanked them both and continued, "So when I finally turned nine my parents hired a trainer for me, and I have been absorbing Muay Thai ever since. It doesn't have the same finesse as the previous style, but it fits with my view of martial arts for a hero."

Izuku questioned, "Doesn't it use boxing gloves though? I don't remember seeing you ever wearing any with your hero costume." He had looked at a fight at some tournament that was using Muay Thai on his phone between classes and noticed this detail.

Mashirao answered with, "You are not wrong Midoriya-san. The style is also known as Thai boxing because competitively they use boxing gloves but it still works without them as that's how it was originally done."

Tooru mused, "So how does it work with your quirk?"

At this Ojiro proudly grinned and said, "With my quirk, the 'Art of the Eight Limbs' becomes the 'Art of Nine Limbs' and improves the style ten-fold."

Hagakure snapped as she stated, "Um Ojiro-san did you forget to count? You only have five limbs."

The tailed teen chuckled a bit, "Muay Thai counts points of contact as limbs. It doesn't just involve punches and kicks; it includes knee and elbow strikes as well. Other martial arts either use two points, with the just the arms, or four points, with both arms and legs." Tooru gave a small grunt signaling her acceptance of Ojiro's answer but also showing she had thought she had caught the boy on a mistake in his logic.

Mashirao continued his lecture, "The biggest reason I use Muay Thai though is how defensive it can be. Most punches in this style avoid body punching, so you don't expose the head to counter strikes. It's elbow techniques can be used to effectively block body punches or kicks plus certain knee attacks from your opponent. Foot thrusts also prevent attacks but are also essential in distance control with the adversary. I could keep going, but I want to say that the style likes to use a concept called the wall of defense. The idea is that you use your arms to disrupt your challenger from executing their moves. Usually, this involves blocking and then counter-attacking. The faster and fewer motions you use, the less energy you must apply to your counter attacks which eventually makes them powerful attacks you can use for virtually free effort once you get good enough. This requires precise timing however and can only be learned by repeatedly practicing and adjusting to the speed of whoever you are fighting."

Hagakure replied with, "That still doesn't explain your quirk is involved in your fighting style."

Ojiro continued with, "Well that's where my tail comes in. It can take more of a beating than any of my other limbs combined. I've conditioned it the most, and it truly is a sight to see what it can block. It isn't the best at countering, as it's slow compared to my other limbs, but I've been working on getting faster with it over the years."

Izuku was a bit dumbfounded. It had been a while since he had seen another person like himself that was all about the details. The boy was kicking himself for not bringing one his notebooks today. He would have been writing nearly every word the tailed hero had spoken; it was all gold.

Mashirao finished with, "When I envisioned being a hero, I wanted to be like a wall. The one that could stand up to any physical attack to protect his teammates and civilians. And thanks to my quirk and my proficiency with Muay Thai I can do just that!"

Midoriya cheered, "That sounds awesome Ojiro-san! That really pumped me up!"

A beeping sound was heard from the tailed teen. He looked at his watch and apologized, "Sorry, it's getting a bit late. Where I live, the train doesn't go often. If I don't start making my way to the station, I'll miss the next train and have to wait an hour till the next one." Ojiro turned to the Tooru and said, "Thanks for inviting me Hagakure-san and thanks for the drink." He then looked at Izuku, "It was nice talking to you Midoriya-san, it's rare to meet people that can appreciate my passion. I'll see you both at lunch tomorrow, hopefully with no interruptions this time." With that Mashirao left the room and closed the door behind him.

"I can see why you invited him," Izuku said after a few moments of silence.

"You know I brought him here because I thought you two would get along. I didn't expect this to work so well," the Tooru said as she grabbed what snacks were left and put them in her backpack. She then started making her way towards the door.

Confused Izuku asked, "Wait, you did this for me? Why?"

The invisible gal opened the door and said, "I've had friends before, sure I lost those friendships, but I've at least had some. It sounds like you've never had a true friend Midoriya-kun and what's wrong with having more than just me. I'm willing to share." With that Tooru closed the door and left for home.

After some time passed, Izuku let his head slowly hit the desk. "Girls are complicated," he whispered to himself.

* * *

 **Damn all you and your positive feedback! ;p**

 **Got over 1,100 views, 52 follows, 32 favorites, and 11 reviews! So yeah, here's another chapter a week in advance.**

 **In some of the reviews, it was brought up that I was only focusing on Izuku + Tooru and should include some other characters. Hopefully, this chapter helped in that regard. Either way, this was planned from the beginning. I wanted chapter one thru four and seven to introduce the main cast. Chapter one, of course, was Izuku and two for Tooru. Chapter three while having a short Ida scene was mostly for Mashirao. I included a bit of Ida this time because chapter four will feature both him and another character so things are not so crowded (but man it's probably going to be a long one anyway, by my standards). Finally, seven will add our final main character. From there it will be group bonding up to the conclusion of the internship arc (maybe some All Might and Eraser head shenanigans with Izuku and his friends) and then the central theme of the story should kick in. Big changes start to happen at that point, though I don't know when or if I ever will fully diverge from the manga, just haven't thought that far ahead.**

 **But enough about potentially spoiling the entire story, let's talk a bit about Mashirao Ojiro. This is another hard character to write about because of the lack of screen time (though he does appear more than Tooru). While I did delve a bit into what I am envisioning for his character (I thought him having a playful side would add more than just being a hard worker who's always serious or something), the main thing I wanted to get across in this chapter was his quirk and my expansion of his "martial arts." The time I spent trying to choose what style to go took quite a bit of time to research. Hope you enjoy it!**

 **Some of you might be wondering, um wasn't Tooru absent this day in the manga? Only nineteen students voted that day, her being the one absent. I know this is one of the many hints that people suggest that she is the traitor. I left her in, as the story is written as if she won't be the traitor. More on that another time.**

 **If you haven't already noticed, I've been going with the English manga's spelling for Ida's name. It's just easier for me to remember and say over Iida for me. Plus I constantly have the English version of the manga by my side for reference (only up to volume 9, however, I, of course, keep up with online postings of new chapters). However, I am keeping Tooru's Japanese spelling over the English spelling, which is simply Toru, cause it seems more masculine, at least in English, with only one "o." Of course not knowing Japanese myself, I later found out that Tooru is usually a guy's name. She was originally pitched to be male but the author thought it would be funnier if she was female and changed it. Going forward I will probably mostly stick with the English spellings for most names, (tho I know for sure I am going with Ochako over Ochaco). Minor nitpicks, but I thought I should at least explain myself.**

 **Next chapter will be the lengthy double character intro, which will be out on August 5th, for sure this time.**


	4. Enter the Swift Hero & Floating Heroine

Chapter 4: Enter the Swift Hero and Floating Heroine

Pain.

Physical pain.

Self-induced physical pain.

This time, however, there was the mental pain as well.

There had been a lot of firsts that Wednesday for Izuku. It was the first time he had ever used his quirk on someone else. The first time he had to fight villains ever since he got his quirk. The first time he had ever seen All Might go all out in person. The last one was the source of Izuku's mental anguish.

Midoriya and All Might were both in the nurse's office back at school. Both had received injuries during a villain invasion during what was supposed to be rescue training. Recovery Girl could handle their injuries, however, pro heroes Eraserhead and Thirteen had received much more serious wounds and were at an actual hospital. Just minutes before he was told by Detective Tsukauchi, an ally and friend to All Might from the police, that both heroes would survive and recover, which brought some comfort to the teen. But it did nothing to stop Izuku from feeling dread about his mentor's situation.

The boy's idol had given his all against the villain known as Nomu. He had pushed past his time plus power limits, and it had cost him. The number one hero already mentioned that this encounter would shorten the duration of his muscle form, which concerned Midoriya of course, but another thought was dominating his mind. It was the thought of the actual possibility of losing his idol, his mentor, his friend. All Might had told his successor if he and his classmates had not helped, the symbol of peace would probably be dead. While grateful for the comment, to think that his demise was even possible had struck Izuku to his core. The idea that Japan would lose it's number one hero, of having to learn to develop his quirk on his own, and that he could have lost a father figure were all things he would need to deal with if his mentor died. The boy had lacked an actual adult male figure in his life for quite some time.

The green haired teen shook such thoughts from his head. He then looked to his right. The sight of his mentor getting some well-deserved sleep eased Midoriya. Not much time had passed since the detective left the room, and after Recovery Girl did another check-up on her patients, she left to monitor the pro heroes at the hospital. All Might was quick to fall asleep after her leave. Sleep was starting to claim Izuku as well. His eyes were getting heavy, and it was getting harder and harder to stay awake. However, something he heard to his left made him quickly become wide awake.

"Hey, Midoriya-kun, you awake?"

The boy knew who that voice belonged to. Turning his head towards the source just confirmed it, because he saw nothing. Izuku's face then became flustered. There was no doubt that Tooru was standing next to him, but because she was entirely invisible meant she was wearing nothing. A naked girl was standing right next to him. "H-Hagakure-san," the teen groaned in a small voice.

"That's me," she whispered confidently back.

The question of how raced through Midoriya's mind. He knew there were police just outside the door guarding it to make sure no one bothered All Might and to keep his true form a secret. "How did you get in here? The police are blocking the door to get in," he murmured.

"I just slipped in the office when that granny nurse left. No one was in the office so it was easy for me to quietly open the next door to this room," she answered.

Izuku started rubbing his forehead and responded, "But why?"

"Well, we didn't get to hang out, again," Tooru said annoyed.

They did seem to keep getting their meetups consistently interrupted. The invisible gal had suggested that they sit next to one another on the bus drive back to U.A. after the training was over. Ida's failed assigned seating arrangements had kept them separate during the bus ride towards the unforeseen simulation joint, as Thirteen had called it. Tooru said she would try and convince the class president to let them seat freely as she and Izuku walked away from the bus. The boy wondered if she even bothered to ask Tenya after the events that unfolded earlier that day. Izuku noticed a depression in the bed to his left; she must be sitting down now.

"You really shouldn't be here. You could get in a lot more trouble than just skipping a class," Midoriya said worryingly.

"Oh, relax would you," she huffed softly. She then continued, "Classes for today and tomorrow got canceled. I just snuck in here the way I did cause of those bozos outside. Which, by the way, why are the police here? You're not in trouble, are you?"

Midoriya was caught off guard by the question and said, "W-What? No, I g-guess that they are just keeping watch since I'm a witness. A detective came by and asked me some questions."

Tooru responded quietly, "Oh yeah, I remember such a person talking to some of our classmates in the aftermath today. He was how we found our teachers and you were going to be ok."

Izuku responded with, "Yeah he told me about the teachers as well."

Before Midoriya could ask another question, the invisible gal spoke first. "And by the way, who's the skeleton dude next to you? He looks kind of sickly," Tooru said in a hushed tone.

Midoriya's mind began to race once again. He quickly blurted out, but softly, "I-I don't know, he was h-here before I got a-arrived." He turned once more to make sure his mentor was still sound asleep. Besides having turned his head away from the two, the man hadn't moved Izuku observed.

Hagakure was quick to ask another question, "You're acting weirder than usual Midoriya-kun. What gives?"

Izuku hiccupped to her question, which brought a soft giggle from Tooru. The boy placed his arms around his head, one around his chin, and another to his side of his face and the hand cupping the top back of his skull. While blushing even more and looking away from Tooru's direction he gave off the smallest of whispers, "D-Did you have to c-come here with n-no clothes on?"

"Um, I know we are trying to not wake the dude over there by being quiet, but even I couldn't even hear that, and I'm next to you," the invisible heroine explained.

A bit louder and with a shaky confidence Izuku asked again, "Did y-you have to come n-naked?"

"Gosh you are so awkward over the smallest of things," she chuckled quietly. "How was I supposed to get into this room if I wasn't invisible. You're totally doing what Ojiro-san did when we were partnered up from our battle training exercise. And it's adorable by the way."

Midoriya asked with a reddening blush, "D-Doesn't that make you u-uncomfortable at all?"

There was a slight pause before Tooru answered softly, "It did when I was younger but unless I have to undress when people are around I never feel embarrassed anymore. I shed my clothes in a bathroom and hid them behind a toilet, so it was no big deal. I don't see how you can be as uncomfortable as you are Midoriya-kun when you can't see anything revealing."

"I-It's just me k-knowing that you are n-nude right now, r-right beside me is w-what is bothering me," Izuku muttered.

Hagakure then said, "If it makes you feel any better I got the uniform subsidy and the support department working together on a hero suit I can wear that stays invisible when I wear it. They are taking a while to get it working how I want it, but it is a big request and all, so it doesn't bother me that much."

"That s-sounds like a g-good idea," the nervous boy muttered. It did intrigue and somewhat comfort Izuku but trying to turn the conversation to a different subject, he asked, "Hey so, what did you do during the attack? Did you take out any villains?"

Tooru gave a quiet exhale and said, "I wish. Frosty took care of most of the bad guys in the landslide zone by himself. I just hid to stay safe as his quirk could have frozen me as well."

She must be describing Shoto Todokori, Izuku thought. He was impressed at the ice-wielding hero's feat of handling so many villains on his own. But then he remembered how quickly the student had shut down both Tooru and Mashirao during the battle training. Either way, Midoriya proceeded to tell his visitor what had transpired when the villains attacked. How he was transported to the flood zone, teamed up with Tsuyu and Mineta, made their way to the villain that was the leader of the invasion, and witnessed All Might's arrival plus fight with Nomu.

"Sounds like you have quite an adventure today," Tooru said quietly.

Jokingly the boy raising the arm that had an IV in it and weakly said, "Yep. Time of my life."

Hagakure let out a sigh and said, "Well I guess you do end up getting hurt often. But I suppose that's just how a great hero-in-training like yourself is like. I mean you were able to even help All Might-sensei."

The praise made Izuku heart skip a beat, but he retorted, "No if I am going to be a decent hero then I need to focus on figuring out how to use my quirk without breaking my bones." The boy rubbed his right leg with his free hand before continuing, "I cannot always rely on Recovery Girl-sensei to heal my mistakes."

They both did not speak for a few moments after the change in tone of the conversation. But Midoriya eventually broke the silence by stating, "Look Hagakure-san, we need another way to stay in touch if we cannot meet at lunch each day. I don't want you to get in trouble over me."

Tooru then asked with a little agitation in her voice, "Then what do you suggest, smarty-pants?"

Izuku racked his brain for a bit trying to figure out this problem. In the back of his mind, however, something distracted him. Why was Tooru so adamant about interacting with him each day. The boy did not dislike all the attention he was getting from the bubbly girl, but he wanted to know its meaning. He thought back to their talk when he was in this very room. How Hagakure had mentioned her struggles with maintaining the friendships she had from her previous school. Was the girl that afraid of drifting apart? They had only known each other for so little time; it felt odd to cling to such a short-lived relationship.

Gives you an idea of how bad my social life was in middle school, doesn't it?

What she said that day was still stuck in Midoriya's mind. Her lack of friendship in her previous school must be why Tooru was so desperate for friendship now. You can't have a sturdy building without a good foundation, Izuku thought. The foundation in a friendship is best established early on, and maybe that's why she is so frantic about meeting him each day. Without regular contact, was Hagakure afraid she might lose a friend again like she did before? And what of Ojiro? The tailed teen was her friend as well. Did Tooru chat with him during the bus ride back? Even if she did, she was here with him now. So why him? Was it because Izuku had interacted with her first? Was it because she saw him as something different? Something more? What would people in such a more personal relationship usually do to keep in touch?

A solution then hit Izuku. This could solve their problem. But he didn't like it. It felt too quick, to ask a girl for this at his age, at least in Midoriya's mind. But logically it made sense. And it didn't have to be the way he saw it and maybe she would see it as meaning something different.

Izuku meekly said, "Um, I-I got an i-idea that c-could work. "W-We could exchange p-phone numbers."

"Hey, why didn't I think of that? It's perfect Midoriya-kun," Hagakure happily said as softly as possible. Izuku saw the depression in the bed disappear and soon a piece of paper and pencil on a desk near the door were floating in the air. The boy then saw the floating pencil quickly whiz around as it wrote. The paper then traveled towards him and was then dropped on his lap.

"Oh, this is so great, now we don't have to worry about all our missed meet-ups, and we can be in touch when we just talk about anything," the invisible girl said with a slightly raised volume. Izuku quickly put his finger over his mouth in an exaggerated motion. "Oh, sorry," the girl continued a small voice.

The boy whispered back, "I'll text you later, so you can get my number as well. It's probably best if you head back to get your clothes and head home. And I got an idea on how to get you out of here." Midoriya told his plan to the invisible gal, and then he got up dragging his IV stand with him as he approached the door. He left it open as he entered the nurse's office and then walked to open the door to the hallway. Izuku's sudden appearance surprised the police sitting just outside. While he asked the guards if he could go to the bathroom, he left the door wide open, letting Tooru make her escape.

Izuku remained in the bathroom for a few minutes as he didn't need to use the bathroom but wanted to give the illusion that he was. During those minutes Izuku pondered at how he had gotten himself in this situation. He just had a girl give her phone number to him. And he had asked for it. From her reaction, Tooru didn't seem to take that as when someone was attempting to get a date with someone. He had hoped for that because he didn't want to come off as such. After returning from the bathroom and laying back in bed, Izuku finally thought he could get to rest. However, another voice, this time on his right got his attention.

"Well that was quite interesting, don't you think my boy?"

Izuku's heartbeat soared. All Might had been awake during Tooru's visit. "H-h-how long were you-," Izuku tried to say.

"Most of the conservation," the pro hero interrupted as he slowly turned his head towards his successor. "To tell you the truth, I've always been a light sleeper since I started getting famous as a hero. Plenty of villains have tried to get the jump on me at my home before I moved to a more secret and secure location. Saved me a few times, yes it did. Good thing for us both that your invisible friend is on the side of justice. I would hate to think how efficient she could be as an assassin if she had gone down the wrong path with a quirk such as hers."

Midoriya's mentor wheezed a bit but then continued, "However, what just happened was yet another instance of our secret almost being exposed. Luckily, she came in after Shuzenji-san left, and not earlier. Would have been troublesome indeed. You haven't hinted to her anything about One for All like you did with that Bakaguo kid, have you?"

Shuzenji-san? Was that Recovery Girl's actual last name? He wondered if pro heroes often shared their more personal details. Though because of All Might's condition, he must interact with her often. This subject also got Izuku to wonder, what was All Might's real name? He had been working with him for about a year now and he still didn't know this detail. Thinking that perhaps he was taking too long to answer, the boy turned his thoughts back to reality and then said, "No sir, I just said I was a late bloomer when it came to acquiring my quirk. I promise."

The number one hero scratched his chin and said, "Good, let's keep it that way. I must say though, I did not take you for being so bold as to ask a girl for her number, surprised me you did. At the very least that should solve our problem of her showing up in places and at times that would be disadvantageous to our quirk's secret."

His student was rapid in his response, "W-wait, n-no, it was j-just the only t-thing I could think of. I-I couldn't have her s-sneak in here a t-third time." Izuku quickly realized what he just said and was quick to cover his mouth with his free hand.

All Might's gaze hardened and he said, "Third time? This has happened before? When?"

Izuku admitted defeat and explained, "After our first lesson with you, Hagakure-san skipped Midnight-sensei's class to visit me here."

The withered hero grunted but continued, "Lass has spunk, I'll give her that. Though there are better ways to use her quirk."

Midoriya was quick to add, "Last time she came fully clothed, u-unlike this time. She was just lucky she wasn't caught last time."

The teacher crossed his fingers with his hands and thought for a moment before saying, "Yes, an odd condition to make full use of one's quirk. I might visit the support department to see if they can hasten production of her hero suit. Should help you both overcome your current predicament faster." Izuku was quite embarrassed that All Might had noticed his problem with Tooru being nude. "Either way my boy, it's good to see you interacting with a friend so early in your schooling here. I'll admit, I have not been around much to see your progression outside hero training. It's good to have allies one can rely on; on and off the field of battle. I hope she's the first of many for you."

All Might's true form wobbled a bit, and he wheezed, "Now while that was a stimulating distraction, I would like some rest. And that goes for you too. We should both get some shut-eye before Recovery Girl returns to release us." Midoriya nodded, and finally, after adjusting himself a bit in his bed, let sleep take him.

* * *

With classes canceled, Izuku decided to start his daily aerobics and weight training in the morning for a change. Usually, this was done in the afternoon after school, but he was having a hard time trying to pass the time that morning with certain thoughts clouding his mind.

He was expecting a text from Tooru. The previous night he had sent a text to her to establish his number in her phone. She simply thanked him and said they would talk tomorrow. Midoriya figured it would be during lunchtime, to mimic the often missed meet-ups. But noon came and went. The boy had since finished his morning exercises and was now writing in his notebook about yesterday's event. He had hoped just some note taking of his observations and conclusions from yesterday would pass the time quickly. And it did, too well. Now the sun was gone from the horizon, and it was getting darker by the minute. Midoriya was starting to panic. What could be delaying Hagakure? Was he supposed to initiate the conversation? Did she forget about the whole thing? Would it look desperate if Izuku texted first? But would Tooru be mad that he didn't text her even if she did forget? What was the invisible girl like when she was angry? The green haired teen remembered her being annoyed a few times and she seemed upset when talking about her problems she experienced in her last school, but never actually angry. He didn't want to see her angry at him.

But before Midoriya could think into the matter more, his phone vibrated. All this time the boy had waited and worried, and now the text was finally here, and Izuku just sat there frozen. Minutes flew by. Midoriya eventually started to reach for his phone, but another jostle of his phone made him flinch back his hand. After a few moments, he finally grabbed his phone to see the two messages she had sent.

Izuku noticed the messages ware on his group chat app. He wondered, why not just a simple text? On the app people's messages came with an icon. Midoriya's was, of course, a picture of All Might flexing. Hagakure's was simply a blank portrait, which made sense when he thought about it.

Blank: Good evening Midoriya-kun, you ready to have a little chat?

Blank: You there? It's okay if now isn't a good time.

Izuku breathed a sigh of relief. Tooru wasn't mad, and he was worrying over nothing. He began to type a response.

All Might: Sorry was in the bathroom, I should be good to talk now.

He hated to lie but couldn't think up of another excuse in such a short amount of time.

Blank: Oh, good. And thanks again for coming up with this idea.

All Might: No, problem. So what was it you wanted to speak about?

There was a bit of a pause before the next message came and Midoriya started to get a bad feeling.

Blank: So I was wondering, would you like to go shopping with me on Saturday?

A date?! Izuku wasn't prepared for this. Wait, was it too much to presume this was a date? Maybe Tooru just wanted to hang out? But isn't hanging out dating? What truly defined what a date was? Regardless, he could just say no. But would that come off as rude? Would Hagakure be angry if he said no? How could this conversation continue if he said no? Midoriya steeled his mind and nerves and began to stumble as he typed.

All Might: Of course, I would love to go.

Izuku felt this was out of character for him; he was currently dreading to go. But he had to say something. Even if the response was more for Tooru than himself. Regardless of his feelings on the matter, he received a response.

Blank: Thank goodness, I was working up the courage to ask you all day. I'll talk to you about the specifics at lunch tomorrow. Toodles!

Having now learned why Hagakure had texted him so late, Midoriya could only chuckle. The thought that they both were stressing over just a text made him smile a bit. For now, his stress levels had dropped, and he sent one final text before calling it an early night.

All Might: Good night and see you in class.

* * *

Izuku was walking to school on Friday and as he approached he was starting to feel less and less comfortable with what was going to happen Saturday. The stress had caused him to unknowingly pick up his pace, and before he knew it, he was in class a lot earlier than he normally was. At the moment only Momo, Tenya, and Tsuyu were there. A glimmer of hope popped into Midoriya's mind as he looked at his class president. He approached the tall teen and asked, "Ida-san, could I talk to you outside the classroom for a minute? I have a problem that I think you can help with."

Ida's face lit up at his friend's question and said, "I'd be glad to be of assistance to you Midoriya-san, please lead the way."

Once outside the room, Izuku began with, "Look I know this might sound too personal to ask you, but I am clueless when it comes to a subject like this."

Tenya rose his an eyebrow and said, "Well whatever it is, I'm sure we can iron out whatever situation you have gotten yourself into. So what's the issue?"

The shorter teen tilted his head down and brought his two index fingers together before responding with, "H-Hagakure-san asked me to go s-shopping with her t-tomorrow."

Ida was silent as he let the information sink in for a second but then began to flail his arms in odd patterns as he tried to grasp the severity of the situation. If Izuku hadn't seen him make similar odd gestures before he would have sworn the taller teen was going to attack him. Eventually, Tenya stopped and coughed before adjusting his glasses and said, "Sorry I just wasn't prepared for such a response from you Midoriya-san. I could never assume anyone in our class to have already attracted the attention of another classmate so early in our semester. I am quite impressed actually. My duty as the class president wants me to condemn you for having any relationship like this with a fellow student but as someone who has been inspired by you to be a better hero I cannot just let you down; it would be unworthy of me as a class president and a fellow classmate. So I suggest you say yes to Hagakure-san and enjoy your time with her tomorrow."

While Izuku was taken back at how Ida had responded he bluntly said, "But I already said yes to her."

Surprised, Tenya then asked, "Then what do you need my help for?"

Izuku panickily responded with, "I-I just don't know w-what to do once I am with h-her. W-What should I even w-wear? S-Should I b-buy her something? P-Pay for the food if we e-eat somewhere? I-I just don't k-know. I am g-grasping at s-straws here Ida-san."

Midoriya was about to continue rambling, but two hands from Ida grasped his shoulders. Calmly he said, "Worry not, it's going to be ok Midoriya-san. Let me think this over during classes today, I'll think of something."

* * *

Classes that morning passed by with little incident. The bell rang for lunch, but before Izuku got up to leave for the cafeteria, Tenya approached his desk. With a thumbs up the tall teen proclaimed, "I think I have the perfect plan to assist you Midoriya-san. I cannot delve into details at the moment, as I still need to set some things up before I can fully commit to this solution to your inquiry." Ida pulled his phone from his pocket and continued by saying, "I suggest we exchange our numbers so that I might contact you after school when I have finalized everything."

The shorter teen then asked, "You sure this will work?"

With a shaky grin, Tenya responded with, "It's a little out of my comfort-zone, but I think we'll manage." Satisfied, Izuku thanked him before heading to lunch. As Midoriya walked the hallway he thanked the stars for his luck. Originally he was going to ask Ojiro for advice, but he was having a hard time thinking of how he could discuss it with the tailed hero at lunch as Hagakure would be there too. Seeing Ida early that morning was a perfect alternative that seemed to have bore fruit.

Lunch itself was quite standard. Mashirao was quick to ask Izuku of the events that unfolded on Wednesday. While the two boys discussed the subject at length, Tooru was awfully quiet. Trying to bring the invisible heroine back into the conversation, Izuku asked if Tooru ever got to have her "petting session" with Ojiro's tail. She was excited to report that she did on the ride back to school after the villain attack. Hagakure then continued by revealing to Ojiro her plans with Midoriya for tomorrow. The green haired teen expected a surprised reaction from Mashirao, but he seemed quite calm. It seemed Tooru thought the same and teased that the tailed teen's reaction was because he was trying to hide that he was jealous. Ojiro was quick to rebuttal that he disliked shopping and that even if wanted to go he couldn't as he was meeting with his Muay Thai instructor tomorrow. His response seemed to annoy Hagakure, but she accepted his answer regardless. Hagakure then showed Midoriya where to meet her on her phone, it was a shopping district just outside his own city, Musutafu, and to be there at 11:30 that morning.

Mashirao would later tell Izuku as they left lunch, once Tooru was out of range, that he figured she had used his tail for comfort than whatever reason she wanted to "squeeze" it before. "I could tell Hagakure-san was a bit shaken that day, so I brought up my promise to her in hopes to cheer her up. She was pleased to take up my offer and was silent most of the way back as she embraced my tail. But when she did speak up she only said how worried she was about you Midoriya-san," Mashirao explained with care in his tone. He then quickly held an index finger to his mouth as he said, "Please don't mention that I told you this tidbit to Hagakure-san."

So Tooru came yesterday not only to make up their missed meet-up but also because she truly was concerned about his well-being as well, Izuku thought. Or maybe her distress about his health was the entire reason she came, and the other reason was just a front. Either way, Midoriya was pleased that Ojiro had told him this. "Of course, just between us, and thanks for telling me," he said as he raised his fist.

Mashirao gave a quick fist bump and said, "Yes, just between us. Oh, and good luck tomorrow, she can be a handful." Izuku nodded and hoped Tenya's plan would make it manageable.

* * *

It was late that afternoon. Midoriya had just finished his daily aerobics routine, but there was still no word form Ida about his supposed plan. Being too curious to wait, and since it was just Tenya, Izuku decided to text him while making his way back home.

All Might: Hey, any update on your plan?

Glasses: Sorry for the lack of news. I'm still awaiting an answer from someone. If I get a yes then we should be good to go.

All Might: Mind telling me what that's about?

Glasses: Oh, well I decided the best plan of action would be for me to come with you tomorrow.

All Might: What? Are you gonna follow us or something?

Glasses: No, I am coming WITH you. Besides, that idea is just asking for trouble.

All Might: WHAT? I cannot see any situation where Hagakure-san would be ok with this!

Glasses: Hence why I am asking another female student to come along. That should even things out, no?

Midoriya was puzzled. So was Tenya setting up this to be a double date? Midoriya was still flip-flopping whether he could count this as just hanging out or an actual date.

All Might: So who did you ask to join us?

Glasses: Well I still don't know if she wants to come or not. I'll tell you whenever she confirms she is.

Izuku was wondering who Tenya could be talking about. Perhaps it was Momo? She was the class vice president after all. He could see Tenya trying to reason with her that it was up to the class leadership to help with such a situation. However, this was something to do outside of school so that idea quickly became not possible in Midoriya's mind. He drew a blank of anyone else the tall teen might ask.

Glasses: By the way, can I come to your house tomorrow morning if this all works out? I should be able to assist you with what clothes to wear and give some pointers.

The length Ida was going for this to work astounded the green haired teen. Was this all because of how much Tenya appreciated Izuku for helping him grow as a hero? The tall teen's words from the morning still lingered in Midoriya's mind.

"My duty as the class president wants me to condemn you for having any relationship like this with a fellow student but as someone who has been inspired by you to be a better hero I cannot just let you down; it would be unworthy of me as a class president and a fellow classmate."

All Might: Sure, that sounds fine. And thanks for everything today.

Glasses: You bet, I'll admit this is kind of fun for me!

Izuku could only smile at Tenya's final text. He had arrived at his house a few minutes ago and was already in his room getting ready to shower. Instead of dwelling on who Ida had invited, the green haired teen instead focused on what to do tomorrow as he entered his bathroom. Shopping was not something he did often, and it usually involved being alongside his mother. Also, what was he going to do about money? Midoriya had a little over six thousand yen saved up. That should be enough for something decent right? That depended where they were shopping though. Should he buy something anyway? Izuku truly hoped they were just going to window shop. But did that make him sound cheap? It all confounded Midoriya as he sat in the tub trying to figure this out. After finishing his bath he had found that Ida had responded back.

Glasses: Well luckily for both of us she said yes, so full steam ahead. See ya tomorrow!

Izuku eyes narrowed. He was not letting Tenya get away with this. The class president had promised he would say who she was once he was able to confirm.

All Might: You still have not told me who else you invited.

A few minutes passed before an answer came.

Glasses: Alright, I did promise. I invited Uraraka-san. You two are acquainted and have worked with one another in the past. It seemed logical that she would be willing to help.

Izuku facepalmed. Of course, it was obvious. Ochako was another female at U.A. that he had many positive interactions with. Also, he had seen Ida and Uraraka spend their time together at lunch. Again, Midoriya had worried over the small details too much.

All Might: She's a good choice. Sorry if I seemed pushy, you are just trying to help me after all. See you tomorrow.

* * *

Tenya arrived the next morning to the surprise of Izuku's mother. Inko was thrilled to see a friend of her son visit her home, as it was the first time she could remember since he was in pre-school. After some greetings, the boys made for Midoriya's room to begin their preparations. But before they began, Ida asked, "So, how much does your mom know about the situation?"

Izuku merely stated, "Well I only told her I was going to hang out with some friends this afternoon. I fell asleep before I could mention you coming today though."

Tenya acknowledged this with a nod and continued, "Let's start with getting you into an appropriate outfit. If this is truly just a straightforward get together, and not a date, then simple casual is our best course of action. And by simple, I mean nothing with a large logo or anything with a busy pattern. Something that is a just a solid color with little variance in design should do." While Midoriya began trying out clothes to show Tenya, he took note of what his class president was wearing. Ida was wearing dark blue jeans with a light orange polo shirt. His shirt was tucked in and had a black belt around his waist. If it wasn't for him wearing a dark blue baseball hat and a small black fanny pack to his side, Izuku was more inclined to say Ida had gone spiffy casual. Eventually, they decided on Izuku wearing some black cargo pants and a simple green t-shirt. "These colors contrast well, and I feel this shade of green of your shirt plus your black shorts matches your hair and eye color quite well," Tenya explained.

As Midoriya put away the clothes not chosen, he asked, "So what's the game plan?"

The tall teen replied, "You haven't told Hagakure-san about us arriving so I think it would be best that you keep it that way and approach her alone. I've already set a different time and place for me to meet with Uraraka-san that's nearby." He then pulled out a map, pointed to a particular spot and continued speaking, "It will be almost noon at this point, so take her to this curry cafe. It's outdoors which will make more sense when Uraraka-san and I arrive to attempt to join you. An added plus is the food is a good tasty for the decent price they offer it at."

Izuku was dazzled again at Tenya's plan and inquired, "Have you been around this area before Ida-san?"

A gentle smile came upon Ida's face, and he said, "Yes, I have. I've spent a lot of time here with my older brother around this plaza when I was younger. Either way, this should start the afternoon off well enough. I'm sure Hagakure-san has a plan on where she wants to shop, and we shouldn't impede on that. Remember that she might reject the idea of Uraraka-san and me joining you for lunch or shopping afterward. I can only do so much, and you will be on your own if it comes to that."

The shorter teen groaned in response, "Right, I understand. But any advice if I do have to fend for myself?"

Tenya paused for a moment before answering with, "Just go with the flow. If she wants to go or try something let her. But don't let her walk all over you either. If you are genuinely uncomfortable about something, be vocal about it. She will probably appreciate you being honest then just letting her do what she wants. Push your social limits further than you are used to, even if it's just a little, but don't push yourself to a panic. It will be hard for you to want to push your limits socially again if you push yourself into a panicked state."

Izuku absorbed all the info he was just given like his life depended on it. However, he was slightly questionable about the panic part. He was gonna panic, that was a given. But perhaps it would be okay to panic anyway, just a little. Tooru did say she found it to be cute. Midoriya finally responded with, "That's quite insightful Ida-san. You sure know your stuff."

Tenya gave a slight bow, "I aim to please my friend. Now we should get going and head for the train towards our destination if we wanna get there promptly."

* * *

After a short ten minute ride, the pair exited the train and then split up. Izuku was surprisingly relaxed as he made his way to the meeting point, which turned out to be a toy store. Izuku didn't think much about it and simply leaned against a blank wall to the side of the shop as he waited for his friend. The weather was fair that day with only a bit of cloud cover. Not too warm but it was getting hotter as it got closer and closer to summer. He couldn't ask for a more perfect day in this regard. Midoriya's reflection on the weather was stopped short by a sudden figure that came into his view.

It was Tooru. She had already seen Izuku and was waving to get his attention. Her outfit included blue denim shorts that were lighter in color than Ida's jeans, a dark red t-shirt, and silver cuff bracelets on her wrists. The invisible teen stated in a cheery voice, "Goooood morning Midoriya-kun!"

"It's almost noon H-Hagakure-san," Izuku sheepishly said.

"Details, details, anywho thanks so much for agreeing to come today. It means the world to me," Tooru heartily stated.

Midoriya was quick to blush but said, "N-No problem. I-If you don't m-mind would you like to e-eat first since it's so close to noon? I know a p-place nearby if that's o-okay."

"Already? I was hoping we could shop a bit before we ate something," Tooru whined.

Izuku took a deep breath to try and calm down. He then tried to explain himself by saying, "That's my fault, I did not eat any breakfast this morning." It was true; he had skipped eating this morning in anticipation of Tenya's arrival.

Hagakure's tone changed as she said, "Oh. Well when you put it that way, sure why don't we grab a bite to eat." Midoriya was glad he was able to convince his friend. He didn't want to consider how Tenya would think of him if he was unable to even get to this point in the plan on his own.

The curry cafe wasn't far from their location, and once they got there Izuku chose a table outside that had four seats. They sat across from one another and started to look at their menus. "So why a place that serves curry? I'm not against the idea, just curious," Tooru asked.

"I s-sometimes get a craving for s-spicy food and today is one of those d-days I guess," the green haired teen said as gave a soft laugh while he scratched the back of his head with one hand. This seemed to satisfy his friend as she returned to looking at the menu. Midoriya didn't like to lie. However, the truth would be worse in this case. Either way, he started to eye the chicken curry selections as possibilities.

After a few minutes, the invisible girl placed her menu down and shifted her body forward and to the left. Izuku guessed what was going on and was glad they were finally here. The girl continued by saying, "No way is that who I think it is? Why is he here? Look Midoriya-kun!"

Midoriya looked around but was surprised not to see two of his classmates but a teacher, his homeroom teacher, Eraserhead. The darkly dressed man was looking through a window quite intensely, as much as he could tell from the wraps of bandages he still had on his face. At their angle, they couldn't see what was inside or what the building was. Izuku knew the pro hero rarely made appearances while on the job, as he tried to avoid the media and any attention at all when being a hero. Yet here he was, just as he dressed at school, in broad daylight in a shopping district of a city. Some people that were passing by were giving him concerned looks. Did they recognize the pro hero? Or was his bandaged appearance making those passing by to turn their heads? Eraserhead didn't stay long once he started to notice the attention he was attracting. He also glanced over to the two sitting down at the cafe but continued walked into the busy crowd of shoppers and disappeared.

"What do you think that was about? He doesn't seem the type to be out here in a place like this," Hagakure said, somewhat concerned.

"Indeed, Sensei's arrival is more perplexing than meeting you two here," said a stern voice. Both teens flinched and turned to see Ida and Uraraka standing next to their table. Wait why was he flinching, he knew they were coming, Izuku thought.

"This day just keeps getting weirder," huffed a baffled Tooru.

"What are the chances of meeting you two here? We saw you two as we passed by but as we approached we saw you two staring at Aizawa-sensei," Ochako explained. The green haired teen took a better look at her outfit. She was wearing a gray t-shirt with black sports shorts that had a white line going down each leg.

Tenya chipped in again and said, "Did either of you see exactly what he was doing?"

Midoriya answered while pointing, "No, we only saw him taking a gander at whatever is inside that shop over there."

"Stay here I'm going to see what that store is," the tall teen stated. He then made his way over to the shop at a brisk walking pace.

"Sorry to interrupt your lunch you two. We'll be on our way soon," Ochako apologized. Izuku violently shook his face towards the floating heroine from behind his menu so Tooru couldn't see.

Hagakure then asked, "Hey, why don't you and Ida-san join us today! We can all eat together, as we haven't even ordered yet. And afterward, if you want, we are planning to look around at some shops."

Before Ochako could answer, Tenya was back and replied, "That was an eyewear store. Why would Aizawa-sensei be looking into a place like that? I have never seen him wear glasses."

Izuku chimed in and said, "Maybe it has something to do with his quirk? He wears goggles because of his quirk."

Uraraka was quick to halt the conversation by telling Ida of Hagakure's invitation. Tenya acted out being surprised and not wanting to be a bother, but Tooru was adamant that it was okay for the two to join her and Izuku. Midoriya was just relieved that everything was somehow going according to plan.

Hagakure then dictated that her green-haired friend sit next to her and that the other two sit across from them. This made Izuku uncomfortable of course but he went with it, and it made sense to sit like this anyways. Plus, the waiter finally arrived and was ready to take their orders. Midoriya ordered madras chicken (boneless chicken curry made with tomatoes and onions) at a medium spice level. Both Hagakure and Uraraka asked for garlic chicken at a mild spice level. Ida went all in and ordered a lamb vindaloo (a very spicy curry made of boneless lamb and potatoes). Tenya also asked for some orange juice while everyone else just asked for water.

With their orders taken Tooru asked slyly, "So, why are you two here together?"

Uraraka slightly blushed and answered, "Would you believe that Ida-san called me yesterday and asked if wanted to spend this afternoon with him?"

The invisible gal replied in shock, "What? No way! I was expecting that you were the one that dragged Ida-san out here. Any reason for the call class president?

With a serious look, Tenya said, "What happened on Wednesday this week was hard on all of us. I had noticed Uraraka-san was still feeling in the dumps about it yesterday. So I thought I would cheer her up, as she is a good friend after all. We need to be at the top of our game if we want to do well at the Hero Festival that is coming up." Izuku wondered if that statement was just part of the act, or was true.

Hagakure then stated, "Well, it's more interesting than why Midoriya-san and I are here. I just asked him out of the blue Thursday night over the phone; I thought it would be fun for both of us." Yeah and it almost gave me a heart attack, Midoriya thought.

Tenya cleared his throat before saying, "Well while we wait for our food why don't we engage in some icebreaker questions?"

Tooru was clueless and asked, "What's an icebreaker?"

"It's an exercise used for people who don't know much about each other, to try and remedy that problem," Ochako explained.

Ida turned to his side and said, "Could not have said it better myself, thank you Uraraka-san. So I think for our first question, because of the setting here, let's share what your favorite food is. And I'll start. I enjoy beef stew more than anything else in this world."

Tooru was quick to respond with, "Oh, that's easy. Mine is caramel." Izuku made a mental note of this.

Ochako meekly said, "I-I like Japanese food."

Ida chipped in before Izuku could respond with, "That's too general Uraraka-san, try to be more specific."

This seemed to startle the "Oh, s-sorry. Um, I guess mochi?" (A rice cake made of mochigome, which is a short-grained glutinous rice harvested in Japan)

Midoriya spoke up and said, "For me it's Katsudon." (A rice bowl including fried pork cutlets, vegetables, and eggs)

Tenya then concluded with, "See this kind of exercise is perfect for letting us get to know each other better. Let's do some more."

Hagakure, however, pinched in and said, "Hey Ida-san, before we continue, I have wanted to ask you this for some time. Based on how you speak and act, are you from a wealthy family or something?"

Ida and Uraraka looked at each other with a concerned look on each other's faces. She put a hand on his shoulder and said, "I think it's ok if you tell them."

Tenya nodded and turned to the others and started with, "You are correct Hagakure-san, though I usually do not share this with others." He turned his head to Izuku and said, "Knowing you Midoriya-san, you've heard of the Turbo Hero: Ingenium before, right?"

Izuku's eyes widened, and he asked, "You mean the one with sixty-five sidekicks? You're related to him?"

Ida let a small smile show before replying with, "Yep, he's my older brother and he's my main inspiration for what a hero should be. Which actually should be our next question. Why did you guys want to become pro heroes?"

Izuku was first to answer this time by saying, "I want to be the number one hero in Japan, like All Might."

Tooru then stated, "Aiming for the top are we Midoriya-san? Well anyways, for me, it's because it would make me the first one in all my family to gain hero status." This intrigued Izuku. Another mental note to inquire more about at a later time.

Ochako looked flustered and said, "Ida-san already knows this but compared to your reasons, mine seems petty." The gravity hero then explained how her family had always struggled with money in their construction business. With her quirk, she wanted to help the family business, but they wanted her to instead focus on her dream of being a hero. Uraraka had hoped that she could use her money from being in the hero business to support them. But instead, she promised her dad to save up money from working as a hero so they could go on a vacation together. Midoriya had never even considered this and thought maybe he could help his mom in a similar way as well once he went pro. The group regardless voiced support for her reasoning.

From there the food arrived, and the four dug in. Tenya might have gone a bit overboard with his order, as it seemed it was a lot spicier than he could handle. Pretty much each bite was followed by a sip of his drink to counteract it. The girls enjoyed their food and chatted to each other about other foods they enjoyed. Izuku was surprised how much he liked his dish, it was shot in the dark, but it turned out to be on point in taste. When it came to paying for the meal, Ida paid for Uraraka, which Midoriya thought was considerate. Izuku tried to do the same, but Tooru insisted that they pay for their own meal. She wasn't mad or annoyed luckily when he did offer, just simply stated that she was fine paying for herself. It ended up costing Izuku 1,800 yen, which left him at about four thousand yen left for shopping. The boy hoped that he didn't need to buy anything else.

To the green haired teen's relief, Tooru just wanted to window shop. As the group made their way from store to store, they pointed out styles they liked or found hideous. Midoriya himself was not very knowledgeable at all when it came to fashion, and it seemed neither did Uraraka. Again, it surprised him that Ida was so well informed on fashion, which led to a lot of discussion of the subject between Tenya and Tooru as they looked around.

As the group passed a place that specialized in swimwear Tooru asked, "Hey Uraraka-san; summer isn't that far away, wanna try on some swimsuits?"

The floating heroine was beet red when she said, "I-Is this the b-best time for this H-Hagakure-san?"

Hagakure expressed in a teasing voice, "Oh, are we afraid to show the boys a little skin?"

Ochako was quick to rebuttal with, "Hey that's not fair for you to say! I would be the only one to show any skin, no one can see yours!"

This gave Tooru pause, but then she laughed and said, "I guess you got me there."

"Hagakure-san, I find this discussion somewhat inappropriate and if you haven't already noticed you are scaring Midoriya-san," Ida said while pointing at the shorter boy.

Izuku was in a corner muttering something about battle preparations to keep his mind from visualizing the two girls in swimsuits. The invisible girl gave a chuckle at Izuku's behavior but then sighed and whined, "Fine, maybe another day."

The rest of the afternoon went without incident. As the time passed 4 pm, Tooru announced that she was tired and was ready to call it quits. The others had no complaints and after a few exchanges the group split. Hagakure had to catch a different train to go home, but they still had a few minutes of walking before needing to separate.

"I wonder how much those two like each other," Tooru randomly blurted out as they walked.

Izuku was a bit taken aback by this statement. Tenya only invited Ochako for the plan, but of course, his invisible friend didn't know that. Maybe she saw more than Midoriya could? But the boy did notice that the two did get along quite well. They always sat next to one another at lunch, like he and Tooru did. Trying to input something Izuku said, "I'm sure they are kind of like you and me."

Hagakure stopped walking and said, "What does 'you and me' mean to you?"

Back to the never-ending roller coaster that was the question of if this was just hanging out or this a date. Were they friends? Or something more? Izuku decided to go with a compromise. "I s-see us as b-best friends," the boy muttered out.

Tooru was silent for a few moments. Midoriya wasn't prepared for her quick movements to bring him into an embrace. Izuku was stunned at first but slowly to hugged her back. Once he did, Tooru spoke up, "Thanks for being honest."

After a minute they both separated and continued their walk. It wasn't long till they arrived at the station. After saying her goodbyes, the invisible girl made her leave. Izuku could only wave as she walked away, as he was having trouble speaking after the hug. He stood there for a while before his phone vibrated. Midoriya took it out to see who would be trying to message him at a time like this.

Glasses: So, did anything happen after we left?

Izuku waited a bit before having the nerves to text back.

All Might: Well she hugged me.

Glasses: First time?

All Might: Yeah.

Glasses: All right!

Bubbles: Great success!

Midoriya's mind raced, who was bubbles? He scrolled up on his phone and noticed Tenya had invited Ochako to the group. She then changed her name and icon to bubbles.

All Might: Why is this a group chat now?

Glasses: I thought it was appropriate.

Glasses: Uraraka-san was in on the plan after all and I thought if we needed to communicate secretly this would be the best place to do that.

Bubbles: Yeah, and I'm glad I could be of help today.

Izuku understood his point. However, it did irk him a bit. Midoriya revealed that he had hugged Tooru to another girl unknowingly.

All Might: Thanks you two. I don't know what I would have done without your assistance.

Midoriya got a bit curious at this point and worked up the strength to text a question for the two.

All Might: So did anything happen between you two after me and Hagakure-san left?

Izuku never got a response from them and decided not to push it. There was always time to ask later. Which got Midoriya to thinking, maybe he should invite those two to lunch at school.

* * *

 **That was a doozy of a chapter to write.** **I almost wrote more in this chapter than the first three chapters combined, all in like three nights. But I felt it was needed here. I wanted to do more than just get through the aftermath of the villain invasion and not just leave the end with a tease with Tooru setting up a date, especially if I could expand it to a double date in the same chapter!**

 **More scenes using the phone texting format will happen in the future. With more characters eventually joining in on the phone texting I felt this format would work best once multiple people are talking to each other. Again I felt it was best to leave a note in the middle of the chapter of what I was doing instead of having people get confused, with my explanation only being in this section would be wrong.**

 **So yes we have Tenya and Ochako joining our main cast now. I guess I focused more on Ida than Uraraka, but I just find him more interesting to write about. I revealed their motives for being a hero here since Midoriya missed the lunch that the two talked about the subject. Not much else to say about them as they are commonly present in the manga. But I am doing something a little different with them from the manga if you haven't already noticed. ;p**

 **Mashirao didn't have much presence this chapter, despite his introduction last chapter. I was considering adding him to the shopping scene, but I felt it would have been tacked on and wouldn't allow the two new additions to shine as much I had hoped. He will be returning regularly come next chapter.**

 **I plan to continue to take advantage of the two-week gap in the main story between now and the hero festival in chapter five. Next chapter will throw a bit of conflict into the story, as it's been pretty streamlined up to this point. Nothing major but I feel it's kind of needed at this point. Then c** **hapter six will focus on the aftermath of the Hero Festival arc.**

 **My knowledge on curry is pretty recent (about a year old). My work introduced me to a local restaurant called Taz: Indian Cusine, it's amazing by the way, which was the first time I ever had curry. Izuku's dish is my favorite, though I usually order poori** **as well (deep-fried wheat bread). I didn't wanna over complicate things with the bread choices, which there are a lot of, so I left them out. So that was why I chose a curry cafe. ;p**

 **I was glad I included All Might and Eraserhead (though the latter's appearance was super minor** **) in this chapter. They'll have small appearances here and there in the future but will eventually be necessary to the plot and its main theme (other than Izuku and Tooru fluff of course). Originally I was going to have another teacher show up as well, but I decided to have the two mentioned previously just pick up the slack. Also, I did not want to borrow too many ideas from the story I got inspired to make an eventual plot point from.**

 **Eventually, my weekly release schedule will probably either become bi-weekly or monthly releases as my work starts again (I'm off during the summer). So just a heads up. Until then, see ya on August 13th for chapter five.**


	5. Raindrops

Chapter 5: Raindrops

Izuku decided to send an invitation to Tenya and Ochako via text on Sunday. They both took up the offer and had no problem with Mashirao being there as well. At first, Midoriya wanted the two showing up to be a surprise for Tooru but eventually overthinking the possibilities to not telling the invisible girl; he changed his mind. She was upfront when she wanted to invite Ojiro; he should be as well he thought. Luckily, Tooru was overjoyed to hear the news when Izuku sent the text. Izuku was tempted to make a shared text group between all of them but thought it would be better to wait and see how things went the next few days. He doubted anyone in his new group of friends would have problems with one another, but he also didn't want to rush things.

Speaking of rushed, as much as Izuku appreciated the small moment he and Tooru had shared the previous day, the brisk pace of their relationship was straining Izuku heart and mind. To go from having no actual friends for over a decade to having multiple friends including the unique one he had with Tooru in under a month was an ordeal. This was magnified tenfold because of how analytical Midoriya was with everything he did and felt. Sometimes he wished he was just a meathead so he could just focus on the now, not the whys, ifs, and buts. These thoughts, however, brought Izuku to ponder a possible answer to his help alleviate some of his stress. Perhaps it was time to tell his mother about his relationship with Tooru.

Midoriya just couldn't blurt out he had conflicting emotions about a girl to his mom, especially a girl that his parent had never seen or heard about before. The teen knew his mother was even more likely to stress out, and possibly even faint, from over worrying than even himself. Perhaps the conversation could start with how Izuku had made a good friend that he wanted to introduce to her, which just happened to be a girl. No this was wrong. Tooru was not a good friend; she was his best friend. Izuku felt he was totally honest with himself when he told Hagakure yesterday that they were best friends. Nobody had made him feel as good about himself than she did. Nobody had made him want to push himself socially and emotionally than she did. Nobody was more interested in wanting to know who he was, why he did things, and how he felt than she did. Izuku knew that he had a very small pool of friends to pull from to compare her to, but when push came to shove Tooru was truly his best friend. Tenya was a definite second choice to all these statements, and Midoriya greatly appreciated what Ida had done the previous day, but when it came to Tooru, it just felt different. Could he be falling in love? Was she falling for him? Was this relationship destined just to end at the level of best friends? Would he ok with that? Would Tooru? These questions continued to plague Izuku's thoughts throughout the day. Today wasn't the day he wanted to discuss the subject with his mother. But he did want to tell her soon before things progressed too much.

With Saturday's meet-up done and over with, Izuku could focus on other things, like the upcoming Hero Festival. All Might had asked him on Friday to stay after school to discuss the event. Before going into the break room, Midoriya's plan was to not stand out at the Hero Festival. Drawing attention away from himself by placing in a middling rank seemed like the best route if he was going to be watched by the thousands that would be attending the event, and that was nothing compared to how many people would be watching it on TV. However, he began questioning himself as he left the office. His mentor was hoping for the opposite, the aim to win it all and wanting his successor's presence to be known to all. Popularity was All Might's drive; it made sense coming from him as he was the number hero in Japan. To be number one was to be a symbol for the people, and the symbol people saw All Might as was of peace. Izuku wanted to be this symbol eventually, so his teacher's proposal sounded logical. But the possibility of having himself linked to All Might's quirk still lingered in his mind.

But before the would-be-successor to All Might could even consider any of this he needed to find a way to control his quirk properly. During the villain invasion, there was another first for Izuku that day. The use of One for All not ending with himself getting injured. It puzzled the teen. Did it occur because, for the first time, he used his quirk on a person, even if that was Nomu? Or was it simply because of the absorption quirk the puppet villain had? Was it because of Izuku's instinct to save Tsuyu from the disintegration quirk the head villain possessed? Midoriya couldn't tell, but he had a strange feeling when he used his quirk at that moment. Perhaps if he could try to recreate that feeling, he might be able to control it. Regardless, he needed to continue his aerobic and weight training. Usually, he would take a break from it on the weekend, but until the Hero Festival, the boy decided to put in the extra work.

* * *

Waking up Monday, Izuku crawled out of bed excited for lunch that day. Slowly he was making more and more friends, and he enjoyed seeing them interact with another going with what he observed Saturday and his meals with his friends from last week. However as he sat on the train as it sped towards U.A. the boy realized, Ojiro had no knowledge of his invitation of Ida and Uraraka to their table. He would have to tell him before class. Luckily he saw the tailed teen sitting next to Koji Koda just outside the entrance of the school on a bench.

Midoriya walked up to the two and asked, "Morning fellas. Mind if Ojiro-san and I have a moment Koda-san?" Koji nodded softly and got up to leave, he gave Mashirao a small wave as he left. Izuku turned back to Ojiro, he said, "Sorry. I didn't interrupt anything important, did I?"

Mashirao responded, "Nah. We were pretty much done. Koda-san just wanted some reassurance about the Hero Festival coming up. He was acting more nervous than normal. Luckily I guessed right when I asked him. It's sometimes hard to figure out Koda-san wants to talk about."

Izuku added, "Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen him speak. Is he mute?"

The tailed teen shook his head and said, "Koda-san can talk, he's just too shy to in most situations. It's rare, but it happens. He actually has quite the vocabulary. Still mostly only responds with either nods or shakes of his head when I speak with him."

"Sounds like you have known him for some time," Izuku pointed out.

Nodding, Ojiro said, "Since middle school. Koda-san always only socialized with students that had quirks that made them appear animal-like if he could. My tail is what got him to want to hang around me. Seems that still applies nowadays here at U.A. since I've only seen him interact with me and Tokoyami-san out of all the students in the class." Mashirao stood up and started to walk towards the school entrance. As he passed Izuku, he stated, "Sorry for rambling, again. Let's head to class." As Midoriya started to follow, the tailed teen asked, "You wanted to talk about something? Wait does this have to do with your date with Hagakure-san on Saturday? How did that go?"

In a startled voice, Izuku said, "I told you it wasn't a d-date." Clearing his throat, Midoriya continued, "I just wanted to tell you I invited Ida-san and Uraraka-san to our lunch table. I thought it would be rude not to tell you since I already told Hagakure-san yesterday on the phone about my decision."

With an eyebrow raised Mashirao asked, "Is there any particular reason you asked them to come?" Midoriya proceeded to tell Ojiro about Saturday as they entered the school. Izuku decided not to mention that it was Ida's plan all along for them to see each other and the embrace that he shared with Tooru. As both teens entered classroom 1-A, Ojiro said, "Well sounds like you guys had fun. I guess I can understand why you invited the two after what happened."

"Thanks for understanding Mashirao-san," Izuku said in a sigh of relief.

Ojiro sat down at his desk and asked, "Were you expecting me to say no?"

Izuku scratched the back of his head and said, "No. But you know how I over think about stuff sometimes. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't stepping on anybody's toes. To be honest, I'm just glad our group is getting bigger."

Mashirao gave a small smirk and said, "You know, our table can seat six people. We have room for one more if we wanted. Any ideas?"

This idea hadn't crossed Izuku. Tooru probably chose the table randomly, Izuku thought. Or did she? Their circular table seated fewer people than the longer rectangular tables and was less common as well in the cafeteria. She would have had a better chance to talk with someone at the larger tables. So why choose a smaller one?

"Earth to Midoriya-san," Ojiro said as he waved his hand in front of the mumbling teen next to his desk.

Izuku apologized, "S-Sorry, I spaced out again didn't I?"

The seated teen chuckled and said, "It's ok, that was a big question for you, sorry I asked. Anyways, the class is about to start; we'll talk more at lunch."

* * *

By the time Izuku had arrived at the lunch table, everyone but Tooru had been seated. Ojiro and Ida were sitting next to one another with Uraraka at the opposite end of the table. Midoriya decided to sit next to the floating heroine. The two boys were already talking to one another as Midoriya approached, but as he sat down, he heard the subject of Muay Thai being discussed. Ochako spoke once Izuku sat down, "It's hard to stop Ojiro-san once he gets going, huh?"

"Oh about his martial arts? Yeah, he lectured us about it the first time he came to the table, but I found it interesting regardless," Izuku explained.

Tenya seemed to enjoy the conversation as well. Ida was asking a lot more questions than he and Tooru had asked that day, Izuku noted. Both seem so engrossed in their talk neither appeared to notice his arrival.

Uraraka caught Izuku's attention by whispering, "Hey what was with that final text you sent on Saturday about?" Midoriya thought back to what he had typed that day.

 _So did anything happen_ _between you two after me and Hagakure-san left?_

"O-Oh, I was just c-curious if anything had h-happened like with m-me is all," Izuku said with a red face.

Ochako crossed her arms and then huffed, "Well for your information all you did was make Ida-san freak out." Midoriya noticed a slight reddening of the face from the girl. He figured Ida probably did have an episode, but perhaps something more happened. Izuku wasn't going to push it though. "Either way, congrats on getting hugged from Hagakure-san. I'm sure that should help with things going forward," the gravity heroine whispered while giving a thumbs up.

Izuku was confused. He questioned the girl, "Going forward?"

"You want to be her boyfriend, no? I mean that's why Ida-san was so willing to go to such lengths to help you," Ochako said with a smile on her face.

Flustered, Izuku responded, "I don't know what Ida-san told you but I just wanted help because I was clueless on what to do when hanging out with a girl." Midoriya thought perhaps this was how Tenya was able to convince Ochako to come on Saturday. Or Ida had actually thought it was a date, not just a simple meet-up.

Uraraka raised an eyebrow, "Really, that's why? I just thought you were just nervous about lots of things. Not that there's anything wrong with being nervous around a girl. I'm sure that's normal for most guys your age."

"Yeah, Izuku's a real mess, you should see him sometimes," a sassy voice said. Izuku grabbed his chest and nearly fell out of his chair when he turned around to see Tooru. The invisible heroine took a seat next to him. Midoriya wondered, how long had she been standing there?

Uraraka, however, wasn't startled and said happily, "Hagakure-san you finally made it! What took you?"

Tooru was excited to respond, "Was just waiting for them to restock the lunch line with some fresh caramel cookies. They are to die for."

While watching Hagakure eat her dessert, Midoriya still found it odd to see her eat. The image of a floating piece of food slowly disappearing chunks at a time as Tooru would eat was always a sight to see. Thankfully, Izuku figured since she was so quick to begin eating, Tooru had only heard the end of his and Ochako's talk and nothing about Saturday's plan was revealed.

"Ah, you finally grace us with your presence Hagakure-san," Ida spoke up.

The invisible heroine turned her body to Tenya and asked, "You boys having a nice chat over there?"

Ochako pitched in, "Oh, they were just talking about Ojiro-san's fighting techniques."

"Can't leave you for a few minutes and you go nerd out martial arts on our new guests Ojiro-san," Tooru said with a sigh.

Mashirao simply shrugged and said, " Not my fault you cannot appreciate the art of Muay Thai like Midoriya-san and Ida-san do."

Hagakure responded with, "I could maybe if you didn't have to give me a ten-page lecture about it each time you bring it up."

Both Tenya and Ochako got a laugh out of Tooru's comeback. Izuku never could fully understand the constant teasing the two would always be engaged in. He knew it was all fun and they weren't mean-spirited, but it just felt odd to constantly egg on the faults of a friend as a way to converse. The boy concluded everyone has different ways they like to interact with certain people.

Ojiro seemed to get the point from what Tooru said and decided to change the subject by asking the two newcomers about what they thought about the Hero Festival. But before Izuku could join in he felt a tug on his shirt. Turning to his side, he could see Tooru was leaned towards him and she whispered, "Looks like inviting these two was a great idea. Ojiro-san seems to be enjoying it, even if he's trying hard not to show it."

Izuku responded with, "Yeah, it just felt natural to ask if they wanted to come. We all got along so well that Saturday and I mean we also had some spare seats."

"Well, I'm glad you asked them to come regardless," Tooru said in a joyful tone.

This got Midoriya to remember his thoughts from earlier. Did Tooru choose this table for a reason or was it just random? However, he thought this wasn't the proper place to ask such a question. Bracing himself, Izuku asked, "H-Hey, mind if we have a small c-chat after classes today? Maybe outside on the school grounds?"

Hagakure asked quietly, "Why not chat about it right now?"

The blushing boy answered with, "It's k-kind of a p-personal question."

The invisible girl crossed her arms and gave the question some thought. She eventually said in a puzzled tone, "Sure, I guess." Izuku thanked Tooru before they both joined back in the group's discussion about the upcoming Sports Festival .

* * *

Midoriya sat on a bench near one of the many pathways that were intertwined in the schoolyard. He was under a Japanese Maple tree, as Izuku wanted to stay out of the afternoon heat not knowing how long his conversation with Tooru would be. As he waited for his friend, he looked at the domed shaped tree above him. It was a beautiful tree during multiple parts of the year thought Izuku. Now, during the spring, it had dark red sepals with white clusters of flowers. In the summer it would produce dark red samara fruits. These bi-winged structures would fall off later in the summer and come down spinning, like that of a helicopter. Finally, the leaves of the tree would become blood red during the fall before becoming bare.

A voice came in front of him, "See a bird or something?"

Tilting his head forward, Izuku saw Tooru standing in front of him. He responded, "Nah, just daydreaming."

As she sat down next to the boy, Tooru asked, "So what's so important that you had to ask me to come out here after school?"

Midoriya took a deep breath and said, "Sorry if sounds random, but this has been in the back of my head all day. When you asked me to join you for lunch on the first day of school, the table we sat at, the same table we still sit at, was there any particular reason you sat there?"

This brought a snicker out of Tooru which confused the Izuku. After calming down, she said, "Always sweating over the small things. But I guess that's what makes you be you Midoriya-kun." This got the boy to blush a bit. He had always thought his analytical tendency was a burden in social settings. But this girl was the first to show him it not as a flaw but as charming. Tooru straightened her skirt and continued, "I guess you could say I did want to be seated at a small table like ours. I felt it was less likely that anyone would come to the table if it were smaller in size."

Izuku was baffled by her statement and said, "Wait wouldn't sitting at a bigger table be better for meeting people? Why would you do something to the opposite of that?"

Hagakure brought her arms to her face before she spoke. Was she cupping her cheeks? Was she embarrassed? In a soft voice, the invisible girl explained, "I wanted to make sure I was alone. For you." This perplexed Izuku even more. Tooru continued, "I thought I could make it more likely for you to join me if I were alone instead of being at a large table with a crowd of people. I only interacted with you for just a minute on the day of the entrance exam, but you seemed to like the kind of person that easily got nervous."

Izuku slowly nodded and said, "Well you weren't wrong. I was a kind of a nervous wreck that day. But, why were you waiting for me?"

Tooru's tone became merrier, and she said, "Silly, right? I mean, I had no idea if you passed the entrance exam or not. And then there I was sitting in class, with you two seats behind me. I didn't know anyone in our class, or that attended the school. All I had was just our little interaction from that day. So I thought maybe I could get to know you at lunch. I made sure I was one of the first students in the cafeteria to secure a spot. There I came up with the idea to sit at a small table. And then I waited. Eventually, you came into the cafeteria view looking so confused and lost. And the rest is history." Tooru turned her body towards the boy and said, "Sorry if that sounds creepy."

Izuku was quick to respond, "It doesn't sound creepy at all. Seems like the logical thing I would do." Midoriya was humbled from Tooru's explanation. He didn't consider it weird at all; he had just the other day had a complicated plan be made for their meet-up. And she had no idea had happened. Yet here she thought she was odd, and she just told him everything. Izuku continued by asking in a somber tone, "What would have happened if I hadn't come to sit with you?"

After a few moments of silence, Tooru continued by saying, "I guess I would have moved on and try to make friends with someone else. And I'm eternally grateful you came and sat with me that day.

With a smile, Izuku responded with, "I'm glad I didn't chicken out that day either."

The invisible heroine then asked, "So was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

Midoriya almost said no but pondered if there was anything else he wanted to discuss with Tooru about. Again thinking back to Saturday. "There is one small thing I want to ask you Hagakure-san. You know those silver bracelets you wore on the weekend?"

Tooru replied back with a somewhat surprised voice, "Yeah. Why do you want to chat about that?"

Izuku put a hand on his wrist as he said, "Well I found you wearing such things as insightful since you were wearing something other than your school uniform. It would have made guessing your motions difficult. I thought it was a good idea."

Hagakure responded with, "I don't know, those bracelets were a bit heavy. I usually don't wear them at all. I had just bought them and hadn't worn the bracelets for an extended period of time till Saturday."

Izuku suggested, "Well you can wear other smaller bracelets, and you don't have to wear them if you don't want to you. Just a suggestion is all."

Tooru got up and paced back and forth a few times before saying, "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

The next couple of days were normal as could be but Izuku enjoyed his daily meet up with his friends.

Tuesday's discussion centered around Eraserhead's appearance on Saturday. The girls thought he only was looking for a pair of sunglasses to help during his recovery if he was outside. The boys while not having an answer for why he was there, agreed that he was hiding something.

Wednesday's chat involved an upcoming written test on the history of heroes. Tooru seemed like the only one not interested in the subject. When asked why by Izuku she seemed annoyed by the subject. Hagakure simply said she wanted lunch to be a place to talk about anything but "boring school stuff" as she put it. Midoriya wondered if there was more to it than what she said.

Thursday brought up a talk about everyone's parents. Ochako told Ojiro of her family's money troubles which he seemed to relate to, as he revealed his family wasn't that well off either. Izuku avoided talking about his dad and just described his mom's similar anxious behavior to himself. Mashirao talked about how his parents were both cops, his father being a lieutenant detective with a desk job and his mother a supervisor sergeant that was always on the streets. This concerned Izuku, as Ojiro's parent's jobs, sounded like they would pay well. So why were they struggling with cash? Maybe something to ask later, he thought. The tailed hero continued by explaining his wanting to be a hero that could protect from his parent's choice in career. Tooru described her family as boring. Her mom worked at a daycare and her father working in computer software. Tenya revealed his heritage to Mashirao, which Izuku noticed, had gotten a reaction out of the tailed teen. He seemed quite surprised, but there was a hint of disgust or maybe anger? Either way, he was quick to hide this emotion, and it seemed no one else noticed as Ida chatted in more detail about his parents and older brother.

That evening Izuku was surprised to see his phone vibrate after finishing dinner.

Blank: You there?

All Might: Yeah, just ate dinner, whats up?

Blank: Are you busy after school Friday?

Midoriya was losing it. He wasn't ready for another day out with the girl. Inviting the other two again was out of the question, it would seem suspicious.

All Might: No. What do you have planned?

Blank: A surprise.

All Might: ...

Blank: Oh it will be different than us hanging out like Saturday, I assure you.

This didn't help calm Izuku. But curiosity was getting the best of him.

Blank: So what's the verdict?

The boy exhaled.

All Might: When and where do you want to meet?

Blank: I knew you would say yes! Why don't we just walk together after class? I'll tell you then. See you tomorrow!

Izuku placed his phone on his desk and then sat in his chair in front of his computer. He thought about what could she be planning as he spun in his chair slowly. If they were leaving from U.A. he didn't know what they would do. Midoriya didn't know the area around the school very well. Even looking up a map of the area around the school on his computer couldn't give him any answers. He only saw utility services, business parks, and some government buildings in walking vicinity from the school. So maybe she wasn't planning to go anywhere. So just a talk? As he wracked his brain, a thought came to his mind. Was she going to confess to him? No. Izuku remembered who he was thinking about. If Tooru ever did confess, it would probably be at the spur of the moment he thought. That's just how she was. But what was she planning?

* * *

The weather was a bit muggy the next morning. The sky looked of slowly approaching rain clouds. Midoriya hoped it wouldn't rain as it was already stressful enough as is. Tooru gave no hint to her surprise as Friday's morning classes rolled along. At lunch, there was no central discussion for once, just small talk about class and how training for the Hero Festival was going. When Izuku looked back on his progress with One for All, he hadn't made much progress. His training involved a bunch of pulled back punches. Midoriya would activate his quirk during a punch, trying to recreate the feeling he felt before, and switch it off before he fully committed. Slowly he would switch it off later and later, hoping to eventually draw out the feeling he felt as he did an actual punch. He was getting close, but in reality, it still was far from being battle ready.

As the final minutes of his last afternoon class came ticking down, Izuku was again becoming hysteric. Sweat was starting to bead down his back, and his breathing and pulse were quickening. He thought about sending a private text to Tenya but figured it might be beyond his ability with such short notice. This time, he would be alone. The bell then rang loudly, making Izuku wince. It was time.

Tooru was quick to get up and head towards Midoriya's desk and asked, "Ready to go?"

"I hope so," was all Izuku could muster.

Tooru chuckled at his words as they left the classroom. As Hagakure led the way, she looked back and said, "So interested in what we are doing?" Izuku gave a weak nod. "Well, on Monday, after our talk after school, I thought could just hang out around here on Friday. But then I looked up what was around here; it was a real drag. So there went that plan in a puff of smoke. But then I thought, maybe we could do something different, but was having a hard time thinking of what. Then we had our discussion at lunch about our parents yesterday." Izuku's mind connected the dots immediately and fully understood what was about to be asked. Tooru continued, "I mean my parents aren't that interesting, but it would be something different we could do if you accompany me to my house to see them today."

By now they were outside the school building. The clouds overhead were quite gray, and the wind was starting to pick up. They were an excellent reflection of how Izuku was feeling. And he didn't want to move forward anymore. There was panicking, and then there was this. Terror.

Izuku had experienced various levels of panic in his life. Usually, the teen could tell how bad it was depending on how his body was reacting. Low levels usually involved stuttering and a quickened heartbeat. The next stage was the physical reaction to step back from a situation and run away or just hide. The highest level was a total shut down. Freezing in place from the shock, a headache that felt like pressure was being applied to the lower back of his head, horrible nausea in the pit of his stomach, and usually crying. This last state of panic was pure terror, and he was there all right. The only times Izuku had ever felt this level of fear was when he found out he was quirkless, when his friends abandoned him because of his lack of possessing a quirk, seeing Bakugo in pain as the sludge villain tried to overtake him, and as he struggled at the U.A. entrance exam.

Mentally, Midoriya was going at breakneck speeds. Parents? Midoriya was just getting used to Tooru and his new friends. And now she wanted him to meet her parents? Maybe this was a confession, but she wanted to do it in front of her parents. Wait, isn't meeting the parents usually after a confession? Was she going to confess right here and now before they would visit her family? It's not like Izuku knew what was supposed to be the typical path in a relationship anyhow. Where did she even live? How long would it take to get there? How long would he be there? He hadn't told his mom about coming late back home, as he thought the surprise would at least be a short affair. But traveling to her house and then doing whatever Tooru wanted to do there would take a while. Plus it was Friday, his mother always made katsudon for dinner this day, his favorite dish. To be late and possibly miss dinner would be highly irregular and cause his mom to over worry.

"Um. Izuku you're muttering to yourself again," Tooru said bringing back Izuku came back reality. He had stopped walking and had his head facing the ground. She came over to grab his arm and said, "Come on Midoriya-kun we got to hurry if we wanna avoid the rain." However, as she pulled on Midoriya's arm, he didn't budge. Hagakure asked in a concerned tone, "Hey, everything okay?" The boy thought back to last Saturday morning. At what Tenya had said to him he had to face Tooru alone.

 _If you are truly uncomfortable about something be vocal about it._

 _Push your social limits further than you are used to, even if it's just a little, but don't push yourself to a panic._

 _You'll never want to push your limits socially again if you push yourself into a panicked state._

It took all Izuku could muster, but he finally said, "N-No." Tooru slowly let go his arm. Holding back tears Izuku responded, "I-I c-can't come with you. I-I w-won't come with you. T-This is just t-too much and t-too fast Hagakure-san. I'm s-sorry."

Tooru asked in a somber tone, "I'm confused. Help me understand Midoriya-kun?"

It had begun to rain, not hard but not a drizzle either. The students in the area began to disperse to get out of the rain. Izuku ignored it, he could have got out his umbrella he brought, but at the moment he had more pressing matters at the moment. Hagakure then whined as she searched inside of her backpack, "Oh, all days for me forget my umbrella at home."

Not only was the sky bringing water so were Izuku's eyes. Tears were flowing, and he hated every part of this, but it had to do it. He just wasn't ready for something like an arm up to wipe his eyes, Midoriya stated, "S-Spending time with you H-Hagakure-san has been the most e-enjoyable time I've had ever in my l-life. B-But I'm just n-not ready for this y-yet. I've l-lacked real c-companionship for over t-ten years. Constant t-teasing and b-bullying from being q-quirkless with no real f-friends in sight. And now I've got a bunch f-friends in s-short span of time. And then there's y-you. S-Showing up in the n-nurse's office twice and then a-asking me out of the b-blue to h-hang out with you. I've been r-riding this at the e-edge of my seat this w-whole time. I was b-barely able to get through just the t-thought of going with y-you last Saturday on my o-own. If Ida-san and Uraraka-san hadn't s-shown up, I don't know w-what would have h-happened."

Sympathetically Tooru said, "Hey it's okay to be afraid of spending time with a girl, I mean we are just teenagers. But remember my parents will be there, we won't be alone. Now let's go before we get soaked."

Izuku raised his voice and said with confidence, "It's not just about being alone with you Tooru! I'm just not ready for this step forward in our relationship!"

The invisible heroine took a few steps back and said, "Relationship?" It took a moment for Izuku to realize what he just said. He needed to sit down, the nausea was getting to him. The boy really didn't want to repeat what had happened just before the entrance exam. Midoriya took a few steps towards one of the walls of the outside entrance of the school. He leaned his body against it till he gradually slid down the wall and sat down in wet grass. He didn't care he just needed a minute to try to calm down. Tooru eventually came beside him and squatted down with her arms hugging her legs close to her chest. Hagakure said in a bitter voice, "So I've been pushing you too hard, huh?"

Izuku sniffed, "It's more m-me than y-you Tooru. I'm sure anyone e-else would have been f-fine going to your h-home and seeing your f-family. I-I'm just n-not ready."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, I've been a bit hasty with things as of late, and I'm sorry for that," Tooru said trying to comfort him.

"Y-You say that b-but I'm gonna be h-hard on m-myself regardless," Midoriya said in a down in the dumps tone.

Hagakure let out a sigh but didn't speak. Minutes went by with either saying a word. They were both soaked at this point. Izuku could even see the outline of his invisible friend's legs, arms, and face as the water dripped off her body. It was hard to make out the details of Tooru's hair, however.

Tooru began to get up and broke the silence by teasing in a soft voice, "You know, you called me by my first name twice during your gushing." With both hands in his face, Midoriya groaned. He did, didn't he? The sound of light thunder rolled in the distance as Tooru asked, "Is it okay if I help you up?" Izuku gave a slight nod. He noticed one of her sleeves came down to his level. He grabbed below it to grasp her hand, and she pulled the boy back to his feet. After letting go, Hagakure then asked, "So this next step in our relationship deal, want to talk about that?"

Izuku didn't want to talk about it. But at this point, he wanted to know something from her more than leaving this on the backburner and answered, "Last weekend I-I told you I felt we were b-best friends, but you a-asking for me to m-meet your p-parents felt something a c-couple would do."

Midoriya felt hands grab his shoulders. In a thoughtful voice Tooru said, "Midoriya-kun, we don't need to be a couple for you just to meet my parents silly. Though asking you to see them after what we did last week was probably a bit hasty on my part. And again I'm sorry, I should have been upfront with you about the surprise. Would have saved us both a lot of trouble if I got rejected over the phone than here." The female let go of Midoriya's shoulders and took a step back onto the pathway and turned sideways. "As much as I would like to continue this conversation, we're both gonna make our parents worry if we stay here any longer. Plus we are both quite soaked as is, and it sounds like more heavier rain on the way with all the thunder I keep hearing. So unless you got anything else to add, I think we should head out to our respective homes."

Izuku was surprised. A part of him wanted Tooru to confirm her intentions about the future of their relationship. It's why he mentioned the word couple in his statement. But she ignored the bait and stated how she felt instead about what had just happened. Midoriya was still curious to what she saw in their relationship status was at but he was content with her answer for now. He finally calmed down and said, "I guess, I just wanna say I'm sorry for ruining your surprise."

Tooru groaned before stating, "I much prefer that you told me about all of this, so there's nothing to be sorry about. Imagine if I had dragged you to my home only for you to have a panic attack in front of my folks. We'd both die of embarrassment!" This got a small chuckle out of Izuku. She was right; it could have gone much, much worse today. Hagakure continued with, "And in the end, I still got to spend time with you, which was the whole point of this, even if it was a bit shorter than I was hoping for." Tooru began to walk away, but she turned around after a few moments and yelled, "I'll see ya on Monday, Izuku!"

Minutes passed as Midoriya stood there drenched by the rain. Midoriya realized a few things as the rain pelted him. They were both on first name basis now, even if Izuku's had been accidental. And, technically, when she helped him up earlier, that was the first time they had ever held hands. It seemed their relationship would keep advancing even though he just sought to slow it down a notch, he thought.

* * *

Izuku spent the weekend not only working on his training for the Hero Festival but trying to grasp what had happened Friday. It was still fresh in his head both when he woke up Saturday and even on Sunday. In the end, it seemed he made the right choice and was glad Tooru wasn't upset about it, even though he thought she would be as it was unfolding that day. Thinking back on why he made the decisions he made that day, Izuku was compelled to pull out his phone Sunday evening.

All Might: I just wanted to thank you again for your advice from before, Ida-san.

It wasn't for a couple of minutes till he got a response.

Glasses: Okay, what happened? Something must be up for you to say that and as a private message as well.

Izuku took a deep breath and continued typing.

All Might: On Friday, after school, Hakagure-san asked me to come to her home and meet her folks. I wasn't ready for that, at all.

All Might: I thought back to what you said last Saturday morning. About not doing something I wasn't comfortable with.

All Might: I said no to her.

Glasses: Was she okay with your answer?

All Might: Yeah. We worked things out.

Glasses: That's good. Was worried there a second. Wouldn't want all we went through to go up in smoke.

All Might: Yeah neither did I. Again, thanks for everything. See you in class.

Midoriya continued his evening by reading the news on his phone. Before joining U.A. he would follow the hero reports in the news almost obsessively. Seeing pros battle their rival villains, rookies climb to fame, and debuts of new heroes. But now he was among them, well in a few years he would, and the little habit of his fell to the wayside. He still followed a weekly recap blog on Sundays so he wouldn't miss any major incidents. It was because of this little habit that he was so knowledgeable about pros he met, and he didn't want to lose this skill of his. However, while reading how Gang Orca single handily demolishing a villain stronghold and then captured all the fleeing criminals, he received a message.

Blank: Evening Midoriya-san. Holding up well I hope.

Midoriya was puzzled. He had invited Tooru to the chat group between him and his two other friends after everything that had happened Friday. It was a way, he hoped, would somewhat make up for what had happened that day. Hagakure only did a simple greeting in the chat that evening but nothing else had been said between the four since. Her current message seemed aimed at him though, so why was she texting in the group chat?

All Might: I'm managing. But you know this is the group chat right?

Blank: Oh, I know. I got a question to ask for everyone.

Blank: But if they are not around I'll just ask you.

Bubbles: I'm here! What's going on?

Blank: Evening!

All Might: Evening.

Bubbles: Hi?

Blank: No sign of Ida-san, oh well, least Uraraka-san is here too.

Bubbles: Still confused here.

All Might: She wants to ask a question to all of us.

Bubbles: Is everything okay?!

Blank: Yes, everything is fine, just something Midoriya-san said Friday that's been bothering me.

Bubbles: Wait, what happened Friday?

Blank: Another day for that discussion.

Izuku thanked the heavens for Tooru dismissing Ochako's question for now.

Blank: So on to the meat of things.

Blank: Was Uraraka-san and Ida-san showing up last Saturday more than a just a coincidence?

Midoriya almost fell off his bed. How did she figure that out? Izuku thought back to everything he said Friday. And then it hit him.

 _I was b-barely able to get through just the t-thought of going with y-you last Saturday on my_ _o-own._

 _If Ida-san and Uraraka-san hadn't s-shown up, I don't know w-what would have h-happened._

Blank: Midoriya-san mentioned having trouble even considering going with me that Saturday. Yet he acted fine, like perfectly normal, and that's what was so odd.

Blank: I figured he would be a lot more nervous and all, so I wanted to take things slow, and then he mentions going to eat somewhere.

Blank: Then guess who decides to show up? I didn't think much of it back then, but then Friday comes, and Midoriya-san says how grateful he was that you two showed up.

Glasses: Can't argue with that logic.

Izuku couldn't either as he laid on the floor of the room, having actually fallen out of his bed this time.

Bubbles: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HERE?

Blank: So nice for you to join us Ida-san.

Glasses: Was trying to get to sleep early but after my phone vibrated twenty times, I had enough.

Izuku pondered, wait, did he actually count?

Glasses: Midoriya-san, I believe this is where you come in.

Oh why did he have to be the one to tell her, Izuku thought. But again, Ida's logic was sound.

All Might: Yeah it was planned. Though it was Ida-san's idea.

Glasses: I spent all of Friday morning's class time trying to figure out how I could help. It seemed like the best option at the time.

Blank: Well that's good to know. Been thinking about it all weekend and couldn't wait until tomorrow to ask. Plus then Ojiro-san would know about this and tease me about it.

Blank: Also none of you can ever tell Ojiro-san. Promise?

Bubbles: I promise.

Glasses: This shall never escape my lips when speaking to him.

All Might: You're not mad?

Blank: Promise!

All Might: Okay, I promise.

Blank: Good. I find it hilarious actually. You guys got me good that I'll admit.

Glasses: I wasn't expecting this reaction at all.

Bubbles: Same.

Blank: Also it made me realize we are all better friends than I thought. With you two going out of your way to help me Midoriya-san spend time with me!

Bubbles: Glad to have helped.

Glasses: I am always willing to help friends in need Hagakure-san.

Glasses: Now if you will excuse me I going to sleep. Until tomorrow.

Blank: Thanks for your time all of you. Later!

Bubbles: I got things to do before heading to bed. Bye!

All Might: Night all.

As Izuku thought after putting down his phone, he thought, is there anything that Tooru isn't okay with? After seeing how flexible she was with everything that had happened recently it did make Izuku wonder. But then he remembered her issue with him missing lunches and the lengths she would go to spend time with him. Even she had her limits. Midoriya had lost interest in looking at the summarized hero reports. Instead, he drifted to sleep having thoughts of what Tooru meant to him.

* * *

As Midoriya arrived to class on Monday, he saw Ochako at the windows looking at the rainy weather that was happening again. He decided he wanted to chat a bit before class would start and said, "Morning Uraraka-san, checking out the rain?"

The gravity heroine didn't turn her head but responded with, "Yeah, of all days why did it have to rain on a Monday. Such a drag."

"Reminds me of getting caught in the rain from Friday after school with Hagakure-san," Izuku chuckled.

His statement piqued Ochako's interest causing her to turn around and say, "Oh so that's when you let that tidbit slip that led to her finding out about Ida-san's scheme."

Midoriya apologized, "Yeah, sorry about that. I still feel sorry about not being truthful from the start though."

Uraraka shrugged and replied, "Oh well. Everything worked out in the end." The boy nodded, but Ochako leaned in a bit towards him and whispered, "Hey everything is alright with you and Hagakure-san, after whatever happened, right?"

It meant a lot to Izuku that the Uraraka was concerned about his bond with Tooru. But how would he answer her? After a few moments, he responded with, "We just had some things to work out, and in the end, we came out of it better than before I think."

Ochako sighed in relief and said, "That's good. I guess I was worrying over nothing. I'd hate for you two be at odds with each other."

"Yeah, hopefully, it doesn't come to that," Izuku said in an optimistic tone. Izuku looked around, more and more of his classmates were arriving, and he told Uraraka it was probably time for them to get seated for class.

* * *

Lunch's topic again had no central theme like last Friday. Though Izuku mostly talked to Ojiro about his quirk training and how he was trying to limit his damage to himself. This started from Ojiro asking because being curious as Midoriya had been the vaguest about the subject, by saying he was simple weight training on Friday. Ojiro suggested some arm specific exercises and stretches to help better help prepare his muscles for the stress they would endure might endure. Unlike most of Mashirao's rants, Tooru seemed interested in their talk. She didn't talk at all, but she was paying attention to it.

Before Izuku could make it back to class for the afternoon lessons, he was approached by All Might in his muscled form. With vigor the hulking pro hero asked, "Midoriya my boy, would you mind joining me in the teacher's break room after classes today? There is something I wish to discuss with you."

Izuku excitedly said, "Of course, I'll be there!"

The number one hero quickly responded with enthusiasm, "Excellent, see you after classes!"

As Izuku saw his mentor make his way down the hall, a voice spoke up, "What was that about?" Midoriya looked around to see Shoto Todoroki was behind him looking perplexed. Izuku had never actually interacted with Shoto before. He knew his quirk was incredibly powerful and that he was one of the smartest students in the class but nothing else. Todoroki said in a condescending tone, "Why is the number one hero interested, of all people, in talking with you?"

His statement made Izuku gulp, but he answered, "A-All Might-sensei probably just wants to give me some p-pointers on my q-quirk is all."

The half-cold half-hot hero put a hand to his chin and in a softer tone said, "Well, you both do have strength enhancement quirks."

"Y-Yeah, that's probably w-why. I-I'll see ya in c-class," Izuku rapidly said and walked away at a reasonable pace. Was Shoto on to something? Either way, he would have to tell his mentor about this after school.

* * *

Before entering the break room, Izuku knocked on the door five times. He waited and heard shuffling from inside and then two soft knocks came from the other side of the door. Midoriya answered back with three beats and then jiggled the doorknob. With that, he heard a click, and the boy walked in finally. All Might had set up this system for his successor and those on the faculty that knew his secret. Having to spend so much time in his true form he couldn't risk leaving doors unlocked for anyone to just waltz in asking who he was. It was annoying to the pro hero, but it had proven itself as quite useful so far.

All Might laid back on a couch looking more tired than usual. Izuku figured he overdid his heroics for the day. He had to keep his image after all. The skeleton of a man spoke up after putting a hand on his back to rub it, "Thanks for coming today. This shouldn't take too long, don't want to worry your mother."

Izuku took a seat and said, "I called her earlier saying I'd be staying after class for a bit. I did the same last Monday, so she shouldn't be too concerned."

All Might tilted his head a bit and said, "Like last Monday? Spending more time with the Hagakure lass again I gather? She's not causing you too much trouble I hope."

The boy gave a weak grin and said, "I've been m-managing."

All Might grunted then brought his hand off his back and cupped his chin with it before asking, "Well the reason for calling you here was that I'm interested in the progress of training with One for All. I hope you are making some headway. You only have a week till the Hero Festival."

Midoriya informed his idol of his thought process and methods for trying to use his quirk without damaging his body. The pro hero gave slight nods as the boy explained himself. When Izuku finished, All Might gave a few words of encouragement but also told him to continue to take it easy with his body. The number one hero then got up, signaling to Izuku that the man was satisfied with his progress and was ready to leave.

"Wait before you go, there's something I have to tell you," the boy blurted out.

All Might stopped his advance towards the door and asked, "Yes?"

Izuku gave a deep breath and stated, "After lunch today, when you told me to come here, Todoroki-san overheard us and started asking questions."

The pro hero leaned back on the door and folded his arms, "That is concerning. But I believe that might be more family-related than anything."

The successor to One for All gave a confused look which prompted his mentor to ask, "You are familiar with the hero ranked just below me, yes?"

Izuku was quick to respond, but in a questioning voice, "You mean the Flame Hero: Endeavor?"

All Might said slowly, "Yes, his actual name is Enji Todoroki. He's Shoto's father." This information shocked Midoriya, but it did explain one reason why Shoto was top in his class. Having such a hero as his father would be a great help, Izuku thought. All Might turned around to unlock the door and continued, "That man has always been obsessed with being better than me, that obsession might have rubbed off on his son. Naturally, witnessing me taking a particular interest in you, the lad will probably do his best to single you out and try to topple you at the Hero Festival. Be ready for that." The pro hero then assumed his muscle form and walked out of the room.

* * *

Throughout the rest of the week, Izuku's tripled down on his training after being inspired by his meeting with All Might. And finally, on Friday it happened.

For safety, Izuku did his quirk training outside his home. He was on a patch of grass just outside the apartment complex with a torso dummy on a stand in front of him. It was late afternoon, and he had spent the last hour practicing. After taking a break and drinking some water, the boy got into his stance once again and activated One for All. Before Izuku could deactivate his quirk this time, however, the punch hit the dummy at full power with an uppercut. A loud crack sounded as the boy launched the torso a few hundred feet into the air. It really, really hurt but Izuku looked at his hand, no broken bones, no torn skin or bleeding, no bruises. He did it.

Midoriya's mother came tumbling out from the door and screamed downwards, "Izuku what was that? Is everything ok? Are we under attack?"

Rubbing his arm to help with the pain Izuku yelled back, "I'm fine mom. But I finally did it!"

Confused, Inko hollered, "You did what?" However, before Izuku could answer the dummy, now in two pieces, finally came back down, leaving a decent-sized crater in the ground and breaking a fence where it landed. Midoriya was then scolded for what he did by his mother. The two later apologized to their apartment manager, which thankfully wasn't too upset. However, Inko did still have to pay for the damage. His mother almost didn't make katsudon for dinner that night, but she was happy enough with the progress of Izuku's quirk that she made it anyway.

His mother spoke as she sat down, "I don't know whether I should be happy you are finally getting the knack for your quirk without hurting yourself or I should be scared that it means you will be more willing to get yourself into more dangerous situations than before."

After taking a few bites from his bowl, Midoriya said, "I'm just glad I won't be in bandages every time I use it if I keep working on it this weekend."

The parent sighed, "Please, just punch the air from now on when practicing."

Izuku apologized, "Sorry, mom, I was just doubling the purpose of that workout by also conditioning my fists after switching off my quirk."

Inko looked perplexed, "Conditioning?"

Midoriya cleared his throat after swallowing his latest mouth full and said, "It's also called cortical remodeling. I stress certain parts of bones by continuously working out with it. Like hitting that dummy, you bought me, over and over. My bones become more dense and stronger in those areas. I have to do it if I want to bring out the full potential of my quirk."

His mother ran a hand through her hair and said, "Just because I understand it now doesn't mean I don't like the idea of it."

They both finished their dinner and started doing the dishes. While doing the chore, Izuku began to think about what he had considered two Sundays ago. Wanting to discuss Tooru with his mother. Perhaps now would be a good time. Once done with the dishes, Izuku asked, "Hey mom, there's something I've meaning to talk to you about."

Inko gave an inquisitive look at her son and asked, "Is everything all right, dear?"

Izuku pointed to his right, "I think we should take this to the living room. If that's all right with you mom?"

The older Midoriya rubbed her temple with her hands and then said, "Let me make some tea first then." The younger Midoriya knew tea always calmed Inko's nerves, and he just nodded. As he waited on the couch for his mom to finish making her tea, Izuku was trying to figure out how he was going to go about this. Perhaps just ease her into the idea, he thought. Yes, slow but steady would probably be for the best. Inko then made her way into the room. Sitting next to her son she then placed a cup of tea down and said, "Well, here we are. So what did you want to talk about exactly?"

After exhaling Izuku began with, "Well, I've gotten quite a number of friends since I've started at the new school. You met one of them the other day before I went to go hang out with some of them."

A bright expression was on Inko's face as she said, "Ah yes, the tall, polite boy. Tenya Ida am I right?"

Midoriya nodded and went on to describe each of his friends in detail. Thier quirks, families, personalities, as much as he could. He could see the look of wonder in his mother's eyes. It pleased Izuku, but he had left one person out of the discussion. "But there's someone that started all this. I mean I think Ida-san and Urarka-san would have probably still been friends with me if I didn't meet her but she got me to where I am today with all of them. I consider her my best friend."

Inko asked, "Who is this?"

Izuku smiled and said, "Tooru. Her name is Tooru Hagakure."

* * *

 **Before I ramble on, again thanks for all the support guys and gals. Look at these #'s: 4k views, 100 follows, 68 favorites, and 19 reviews. Sweet!**

 **I wanna put this out there, even though no one has not brought it up yet in reviews or pm's, which is a good thing I think. This is a slice of life story. Yes, some action scenes will make their way into this eventually, but it will never be the primary focus here. The manga/anime portrays battles better than I could ever write and since I am, for now, following the main story of the manga, there isn't any reason for me to recreate fight scenes that we know the results of. Unless of course, I present significant changes, which again, so far I've only done minor changes.**

 **Speaking of small changes, you might have noticed a little change to the main story in the last chapter. The Friday lunch period with All Might to discuss the Hero Festival didn't happen. I felt after witnessing Tooru's lengths she would go through to interact daily with his successor, he wouldn't just turn around and interrupt Izuku's lunch with the girl. It made sense for him to just reschedule the meeting till after school. This also gave me the opportunity for Shoto to find out All Might's interest in Izuku a different way this chapter. I felt it a bit more personal here over just hearing gossip from Tenya and Ochako in the manga.**

 **So yes, finally a bit of conflict in the story, even if it didn't last long. Everything has been moving before this point without much resistance from Izuku. Kinda struggled writing that scene (slow to write with many significant edits) as I wanted it to seem believable. No relationship is perfect, and neither will this one. I truly feel that the Izuku wouldn't be comfortable with how fast he and Tooru are advancing in their relationship. I know to some people this might seem slow, but it's not how real life usually works (okay I get it I'm writing a story in a world of superheroes, but there's gotta be some sense of realism). To go so long without a positive relationship that wasn't his mom and then get friends handed to him on a silver platter with even desserts can't be normal for somebody just to say, I'm ok with this. There's gotta be some internal struggle in there. And of course, this is made even more complicated because this is Izuku that we are talking about. Quoting from All Might, "There's no one more dedicated to the world of nonsense than you, kid!" which was a (English manga) response to Midoriya from over thinking about the Hero Festival. It's a curse of his analytical side, but it's what makes him an interesting shonen character compared to big shots like Goku, Luffy, and Naruto (who are just battle smart).**

 **Originally, I was going to have Izuku go with Tooru to her house and meet her parents. But after thinking long and hard, I felt Izuku taking Tenya's words to heart and rejecting something he wasn't ready for would be better for his character development and his standing with Tooru. It also gave me an excuse to slow down their build-up. It's very tempting to want to advance a relationship when writing. You get more options and scenarios to write with, and the romance is what a lot of readers seek to read. I love a slow-burn romance story, but many readers don't. Some of my favorite slow-burn fics are often plagued with reviewers that complain why the relationship is being too slow. On the opposite end of things, too many times I see a fanfic story where a couple quickly develop their relationship and do everything a couple could do and then they just sit on it for the rest of the story with little/no or bad progress. Usually, the next step would be sex in these stories, but either it's a T rated fic or the author doesn't have the knack for writing smut, which I admit is probably hard to write well. Don't expect any such scenes from me; I like writing how characters interact to one another, not hump another. I'd probably be terrible at writing it anyway.**

 **I actually could have ended the chapter after the scene with Tooru in the rain. But I really wanted you guys to see Izuku talk with his mom about Tooru (even though that is just a cliffhanger), see a bit of the aftermath with rejecting Tooru's "surprise", and having Shoto witness Izuku being with All Might. That way I can instead focus on other things come the next chapter. Our next chapter will focus on the aftermath of the Hero Festival and the Hero Killer arcs. Ida will be getting a decent amount of development here as well as the introduction of the final main character to join the story will occur. My job starts again in full gear next week starting Wednesday (I'm off during the summer). Chapter six might be the last chapter to be released so quickly. From there, chapters might be more spread out. Regardless, see ya on August 20th for chapter six!**


	6. The Comforts of His Home

Chapter 6: The Comforts of His Home

Pain.

Physical pain.

Self-induced physical pain.

This time, however, Tooru was at his side.

Before being healed by Recovery Girl, Izuku's body was thrashed. His right arm, hand, and fingers were a bloody and broken mess. His left arm was heavily bruised and his left leg was broken and swollen. The smallest injury was on the boy's left cheek, which had a cut on the inside and was bruised and swollen on the outside. After Recovery Girl used her quirk and performed surgery, Mirodriya could walk again, though with a wobble. He still had his right arm in a sling and was covered in bandages. Izuku felt even worse for his homeroom teacher after he started moving around in them, as he too was still wrapped in bandages. The older woman instructed the boy to keep the sling on for two days and removing the bandages would have to wait till Saturday.

The Hero Festival was over. The students of 1-A were on a bus that would soon take them back to their campus. Eraserhead was busy talking to the bus driver as they finalized things before their departure and most of the students were busy chatting at what had just occurred. Izuku was sitting at the back of the bus with Tooru on his left side and both were silent at the moment.

Midoriya found that Hagakure had been distant to him since his last match. She didn't say a word or acknowledge him as he sat in the bleachers nearby during the final two matches of the tournament event. The green haired teen had wanted to sit next the invisible girl after he was healed, but the only open seats were next to Ochako. Tooru was sitting between Denki and Momo and didn't make any attempt to get his attention when he arrived. Izuku expected her to say something or at least give a wave but nothing happened. He did wonder, perhaps the invisible girl was too engaged with the current match between Katsuki and Fumikage?

But Midoriya thought back to before his surgery when Recovery Girl was interrupted when giving All Might the details on his wounds. His friends from lunch including the two he had teamed up with during the villain invasion; Tsuyu and Minoru had barged in and expressed their concern for him except Tooru. Ida had one of his hand gesture episodes when he had learned of Midoriya needing surgery. Uraraka had called him Deku, again, which was something he still wasn't used to hearing from anyone but Bakugo. Ojiro had thanked him for winning against Shinso as Midoriya promised but also apologized if had pushed him to try too hard in his match against Todoroki. Mineta only commented how no pro hero would want to hire him after his reckless behavior from earlier, but Izuku could tell he was still concerned from the tone of his voice. Asui might not have said anything directly to Midoriya, but he appreciated the frog heroine's quick smack with her tongue to the short hero and proceeded to chide him for his statement. Hagakure just stood silently in the background, not saying a peep. All of this worried the boy greatly.

Tooru was currently saying nothing and hadn't said anything since she had grabbed Izuku's left arm as he boarded the bus. She was sitting there waiting for him as he stepped into the vehicle and simply said, "Come with me," as she pulled him to the back of the bus. This luckily didn't make a scene, as only a few of his classmates were on the bus at that time. The invisible girl was still grasping his hand, and by now the warmth of it was starting to make his bandages damp with his sweat.

There was so much Midoriya wanted to ask the girl sitting beside him, but he couldn't make up his mind at which to ask first. It finally came to him, perhaps start with something simple, and unrelated to himself? It took a bit, but as the bus began to lurch forward, Izuku asked in a shaky voice, "S-So you seemed to e-enjoy being a c-cheerleader out there t-today."

Tooru was slow to exhale and then said, "I don't want to talk about that right now."

Izuku closed his eyes and internally sighed. That didn't work, he thought. Perhaps a different approach. Midoriya asked with a bit more confidence, "Then what do you want to t-talk about?"

Hagakure was quick to slightly raise his left arm with her hand. She then bluntly said, "This." And judging from her other sleeve's movement, she pointed between his leg and slung arm and continued by saying, "All of this. I thought you said you could control your quirk now. So why did all of this happen?" The tone of her voice was a mixture of disappointment and confusion, even a hint of anger. Her words stung the boy, but he couldn't fault her for his behavior.

Izuku thought back to the start of the Hero Festival. In the first event, a race through an obstacle course, with just his wits and using only his base strength plus speed he was able to place first. This was an immense accomplishment to the boy, as it proved to himself that he was hero material even without One for All. In the second event, the Kibasen, or Japanese cavalry battle, he and his three teammates were barely able to make the cut to the next event by placing in fourth. Here Midoriya was able to use his quirk against Shoto's team without injuring himself or his opponent, as he swatted the air instead of making physical contact with Todoroki. His training had paid off, and even though they barely passed, the usage of his quirk without injury in the heat of battle made Izuku overjoyed.

In the first round of the final event, which was a tournament, was against the brainwasher, Hitoshi Shinso. Izuku, however, had failed in taking Mashirao's advice against the student from class 1-C. Ojiro had previously experienced the effects of Hitoshi's quirk and told Izuku to not verbally respond to the boy as it was how his quirk was activated. Because of being used against his will by the said quirk in the cavalry battle, the tailed hero dropped out of the final event, along with Nirengeki Shoda from class 1-B, because of pride, a noble thing to do Izuku felt. Unfortunately, Midoriya had allowed his opponent to egg him on. After Hitoshi called Mashirao a "monkey" and dismissing his drop out as an act of saving one's pride, Izuku spoke out. This was all that was needed for Shinso to activate his mind control quirk and force Midoriya to walk outside of the ring. Only by activating One for All to break two of his fingers, was Izuku able to cut off from the mind control just before stepping out of the arena. And after a quick scuffle Midoriya was able to throw Shinso out of the ring and advance to the next round.

However, something odd had happened before the successor of All Might was able to gain control again. It's as if he felt the presence of others from within himself. All Might claimed, after the Midoriya's surgery, that it was the previous holders' of One for All that the boy had felt and that it was a sign that he was becoming accustomed to the quirk. However, it worried the green haired teen that he felt his mentor's presence was among them and that his mentor dismissed it as the reason why his student was able to break the mind control.

But it was all for not. In the second round, against Shoto, Izuku blew his chances of advancing in the tournament any further. After hearing of his opponent's terrible past both before and during the match, it made him forget about his promise to All Might. Midoriya thought he had a troubled life when growing up, but it felt like nothing to what Todoroki had been through. The forced quirk marriage between Shoto's parents all so his father could raise a hero to beat his mentor in hero rank, the fractured relationship he had with his mother once she burned his face on accident, the hardships his father had forced his son to endure in order to be the best he could. It made Izuku's troubles seem petty in comparison and this changed something inside the successor to All Might. Midoriya didn't care to win anymore; he wanted to save Shoto from himself. Todoroki wasn't looking at his quirks as his own, but as belonging to his parents. Izuku believed if his troubled classmate could appreciate both of his powers and see them as belonging to him and him only, he could overcome his revenge he had for his father and stop denying the fire quirk he inherited from him. But in doing this the green haired teen almost entirely ignored his previous training. He did this by using One for All at full power to stop Shoto's ice attacks. Izuku only held back when he got a punch in on his opponent's abdomen, which he tried to apply his training since it was making contact with someone. And it worked, he had minimized the damage he inflicted on Todoroki but still injured his hand in the process as if he went a hundred percent. It was something, but it was just another chance of victory Midoriya let slip away. He could have ended it right there. Izuku could have not held back as much as he did and sent his opponent flying out of the ring, but no, he wanted to force Shoto into using his fire quirk, even if it would ensure his loss. And eventually, Midoriya was able to make Todoroki do so but was hastily defeated afterward.

A low but agitated voice from Tooru brought Izuku back to reality, "You are not mumbling your way out of this question. It's not cute at all this time. Ojiro-san and you both could have gone on to do great things at the tournament. But you both threw that away. Ojiro-san said it was for pride, which I sorta understand, but he should have gone for it anyway and showed everyone including himself that he deserved to be in the final event by competing. You said you wanted to be the number one hero in Japan, but then you inspired your competitor to be stronger, so it was easier for him to defeat you? Why?"

Midoriya could only look at his friend with exhaustion. But after a few moments, he decided on what he would say and tightened his hold on her hand. Izuku said, "You're right, I wasn't thinking like a normal hero."

Hagakure slowly said, "Normal?"

Midoriya nodded, "I was thinking like a true hero." Repeating what All Might had told him earlier, Izuku boldly said, "Giving help that's not asked for is what makes a true hero."

Tooru was quick to ask, "Help? Why would Todoroki-san need help?" Izuku then explained to his invisible friend all that Shoto had revealed to him before and during his match. As he spoke, and as she asked questions, the boy noticed her tone become less irritated and more sympathetic. As Midoriya ended his explanation, Tooru sighed and asked, "But was it worth getting yourself so beat up?"

Izuku loosened his grip on her hand and said, "I'm not sure. Recovery Girl-sensei told me she would never heal my injuries if I used my quirk as I did today again. I mean I did all of this cause I banked on that she would heal me, as she always did. I took advantage of her quirk. But maybe it's for the better. This will force me to think of a better method of mastering my quirk. But in the end, I think it was worth it to save Todoroki-san from his path of revenge."

Tooru was quiet for a bit but he soon felt something press against his left shoulder. Was she leaning against him? She then said in a whisper, "Even if I try I can't stay mad at you after what you said."

Izuku finally felt relaxed as he let the girl lean on him, but he could still tell his friend was still not happy about what had happened. What could he do to cheer her up? Midoriya pondered this the rest of the trip back in silence. Once the bus arrived back on campus, and the students started filing out the vehicle the two finally broke their hand holding.

There was a quick class once the students made their way back to the classroom. Eraserhead explained that they had the next two days off to rest. Their homeroom teacher also mentioned that they would receive their reports from the pro heroes that had observed the events when they returned Thursday.

During the small lecture, Izuku was thinking of other things. He looked over at Tenya's empty desk. The speedy hero had a chance at third place in the hero festival but left for a family emergency, which placed him in fourth. Midoriya was tempted to send a private text to Ida to ask what had happened but thought it would be better to wait till Thursday, as it might be too personal to talk about over the phone or at all.

Izuku turned his head again towards Ochako. She seemed to be thinking about the same thing, judging from her saddened face. Or was it perhaps from Uraraka's loss against Bakugo in the first round of the tournament? She tried so hard to impress her parents, especially her dad. To see her cry on the phone when talking to her father after the match even got a few tears out of the green haired teen.

But now something else was simmering in his head. And it involved Tooru. Izuku was still mulling over what he could do to better comfort her. To him, the time they shared holding hands and letting Hagakure lean against his side didn't feel like enough to say sorry for how upset he had made her get. Midoriya felt like he had to something more. But what? Having previously just thought about Tenya, Izuku again recalled his previous advice.

 _Push your social limits further than you are used to, even if it's just a little..._

Going to Tooru's house and meeting her parents was just too much at this point. Izuku thought, compromises seemed to work in the past; maybe it could work here? With this thought in his mind, the class was finally dismissed, and Midoriya decided to follow Hagakure as she left. Once she had made her way outside the school, and there was a decent distance between her and other students he approached her from the side.

This got the Hagakure's attention, and she was rapid to ask, "Need something Midoriya-kun?"

Izuku steeled his nerves as he meekly said, "I-I just wanted to o-offer you something H-Hagakure-chan."

The invisible girl stopped immediately upon hearing her name with this new honorific and grabbed the boy's shoulders. In an overjoyed voice, she asked, "And what could my best friend want to offer too little ol' me?"

Midoriya placed his free hand on his chest and breathed in and out slowly before asking, "W-Would you like to c-come over and h-hang out at my p-place today?"

* * *

Izuku was sitting on the train that was speeding back towards his home. He was panicking a bit, but it was much more manageable than the alternative would have been. Tooru sat at his side, and judging from the motions of her shoes, was happily swinging her feet as she talked on the phone with her parents. Midoriya was taken aback that Hagakure wanted to wait till they were on the train to call her parents of their plans. Was she that confident they would say yes? Midoriya had called his mom while they made their way to the subway station and, while flustered, his mother had agreed to Izuku's request. His worries again were proven to be for naught, as Tooru was excited to tell him her parents had no problem with the idea. After giving a small chuckle, Midoriya said, "So this is really happening, huh?"

In a sarcastic tone, Tooru said, "Getting cold feet, are we? Were you hoping my folks would say no?"

Midoriya waved his free hand in protest and said, "No, of course not. It's just I'm just kind of surprised I'm going through with this."

Switching back to a more serious and sympathetic voice, Hagakure asked, "You sure about this though? I mean I don't want to have us repeat what happened like last time."

Izuku shook his head and said, "I think I can handle doing this. This is my home and just my mom. I am familiar with this kind of setting, u-unlike going to your p-place."

This seemed to satisfy the invisible heroine. After a few moments, Tooru asked, "Have any plan on what we are going to do at your place?

The boy had been thinking about what they could do. But not much had come to mind. "Well I thought I could introduce you to my mom and we would just go from there," Midoriya said hoping it would be enough for her.

Izuku felt a hand pat his shoulder a few times before its owner said, "Well at least it's something."

After a minute of silence, Tooru turned around and looked out the window of the train to the observe the scenery. With her finally distracted, Izuku went to confirm the smell he had noticed since he sat down by lightly sniffing himself. He groaned internally, yeah, it was definitely him. While Recovery Girl was able to wipe away most of Midoriya's blood and sweat before his surgery, the scent of his blood still lingered. Also being wrapped in so many bandages in the warm weather had made him perspire again. The boy hoped his friend hadn't noticed his stench. Izuku wouldn't be able to shower while Tooru was visiting. He had considered the possibility of washing up, but that would leave his friend alone with his mom. That idea was quickly dashed when he started to think of the things the two females might discuss with his absence.

Izuku had been quite open with his mom about when he told her about Tooru. He had mentioned everything he could to her. How they met on the day of the entrance exam, their first lunch together, both times that she had sneaked into the nurse's office, their talk under the maple tree, the incident in the rain. Watching his mother's reactions was a rollercoaster: tears of joy, tears of sadness, laughter, and confusion. When he had finished, she also had finished something, the last of her tea. After placing the cup on the table, Inko grabbed one of her son's hand with both of her hands. What she said next still reverberated in his head for the last few days.

 _Do you love this girl?_

Izuku couldn't answer her that night. He still couldn't answer her this morning either before he departed to school for the Hero Festival. And sitting next to Tooru at this moment, he still had nothing. But hearing his mom say those words had an effect on him. Midoriya felt like weights had lifted from his shoulders as he told his mother about Tooru. However, her question at the end had brought those weights back, even heavier than before. One step forward, two steps back, Izuku thought. At the very least by telling his mom everything, Midoriya could rely on her in the future if he ever needed advice on the subject. Also, this situation would be less of a surprise and burden to his mother since he talked to her. The slowing of the train brought the green haired teen back to the world outside his head.

The two left the subway with Izuku in the front and Tooru right behind him. The boy started to consider a few things at this point. Would Hagakure be that judgmental? Midoriya first considered his living space, an apartment complex. Not exactly the coziest of homes and located in not the best of all neighborhoods. In no way a dangerous place to live, but it was a bit run down in places and had a few homeless people here and there. Izuku had never had any bad experiences with these people, in fact, many of them were friendly, but the image they gave off might unsettle visitors to the neighborhood. There was also his room to think about. Tooru already knew that he was a big fan of All Might, but his room would take that to another level. He could, in theory, restrict her visit to just the living room but that would mean his mother would be there the whole time unless she stayed in her room. Both scenarios were not what Midoriya wanted. Finally, what would he do after introducing Hagakure to his mom? Would they just talk? Izuku hoped they just would only chat. That was the easiest option to do.

The boy stopped and looked up at his apartment complex. In a curious voice, Tooru asked, "Is this the place?"

"Y-Yeah, we're h-here," Midoriya muttered.

After climbing some stairs, they both stood in front of his apartment door. After a deep breath, the boy pulled out his keys and unlocked it. Izuku wasn't prepared for his mom grabbing him and giving the biggest bear hug he has had in a long while. With tears in her eyes, Inko wailed, "O-Oh my b-baby boy is all r-right. I-I was so w-worried about y-you. I-I can't tell you how m-many times I f-fainted from watching the e-events on the TV."

After being swung a few times, Izuku said in pain, "Mom you're hurting my arms!"

The parent was quick to let down her son gently and apologize. Inko turned to see the guest in the doorway. She approached with an arm extended and said, "Y-You must be H-Hagakure-san."

Tooru instead of shaking Inko's hand, hugged the grown women as well, surprising both Midoriyas. Chuckling, Tooru said, "Your mom is just like you said Izuku." The invisible girl let go of the women and made her way into the living room. While she looked around, Izuku and his mom exchanged a look of confusion to each other.

Inko coughed and asked, "H-Hagakure-san would you like a cup of t-tea?"

"No thanks ma'am. I think me and Izuku are just going to head to his room," Hagakure said in a merry tone.

The older women continued her puzzled expression but said, "O-Oh, well you two have f-fun." She turned to face her son and said, "I'll be right here if you need anything."

The younger Midoriya nodded before showing his friend to the door to his bedroom. Izuku didn't expect to be at this point so rapidly. Why was Tooru being so quick to be in his room? Midoriya opened his door and turned on the lights. After she had walked in, he shut the door and hoped he would be able to get through whatever was about to happen.

Hagakure was silent as she took it all in. Figurines, miniatures, posters, newspaper cutouts, books, magazines were everywhere. If they weren't about All Might, they had something to do with pro heroes. Eventually, the invisible heroine spoke up, "Hey what's with this one?" She stood by a glass-encased notebook above his bed.

Midoriya said with a smile, "Oh, that's an autograph I got from All Might last year."

Tooru turned her body back at the notebook and asked, "Why is it burnt? Wouldn't you want such a thing in good condition?"

"Oh, it was all I had on me at the time. And All Might signed it without me even asking," Izuku responded.

Hagakure crossed her arms and said, "Yeah that sounds like something he would do." She then exhaled and asked, "Hey Izuku, could I have you sit on your bed?"

Bewildered, Midoriya asked, "What for?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Now get over here and don't turn around until I say you can," the invisible girl demanded.

Not wanting to argue, Izuku did as she said but as he heard the ruffling of clothing from behind him, his mind began to race. The hell could she be doing? Thinking back to their meet up weekends ago, he remembered her interest in the swimsuit store. But this was hardly the place to be showing off a swimsuit to tease him. Midoriya then recalled even further back to her sneaking into the nurse's office for the second time, and how Tooru mentioned having an invisible suit in development. Maybe she had finally obtained it? Though there wouldn't be much to show since she would still be invisible.

"You can turn around now," Tooru said in a confident voice.

Izuku slowly rotated his body but kept his eyes closed. He asked in a shaky voice, "I-I can t-trust you that this is a-appropriate, Tooru?"

A long sigh escaped her lips as Hagakure said, "Yes. It's not as bad as you are probably thinking. Now open those eyes already!"

Midoriya peeked open his right eye to the sight of Tooru in a cheerleader's outfit. The same one from earlier at the Hero Festival. It was a bit revealing of her curves, but nothing like a swimsuit would be. He noticed that she was wearing some bracelets as well. This was the first time he saw his friend wear some since he had suggested it. But Izuku didn't remember noticing them at the Hero Festival. Maybe it was because she had pom poms earlier? Hagakure wasn't holding any at the moment.

After opening his other eye as well, Midoriya asked, "W-Why are you w-wearing that again?"

Tooru answered with, "Well to answer your question from earlier of course. I was delighted I got a chance to act like a cheerleader finally!"

Izuku then remembered what he had said to his friend on the bus when he finally built enough courage to break the silence between the two.

 _S-So you seemed to_ e-enjoy _being a c-cheerleader out there t-today._

Midoriya relaxed and asked, "What do you mean that you 'finally' being able to be a cheerleader?"

With a bit of melancholy in her voice, Tooru said, "Well in middle school I thought if I could join the cheer squad I could be more popular and maybe be better noticed. But the girls there said I couldn't join." Hagakure then said in a snobby voice, "You can't be a cheerleader if you are ugly, and with you, we can't tell!"

"That's a pretty vile thing for them to say," said Izuku in a concerned tone.

Tooru was quick to respond, "I know right?" The invisible girl approached the bed and said, "I hated that Kaminari-san and that perverted purple blob tricked us into wearing this but once I put on the uniform and was in front of all those people I felt like I just had to play the part. It felt so good to be out there and cheer on our classmates."

Hagakure then did a short cheer routine in front of the Midoriya, but soon apologized, "Sorry I got in the zone again."

Izuku had noticed something in that routine. At first, he thought it was just his mind having dirty thoughts, but it was confirmed again multiple times. There were a few moments during Tooru's acrobatics that Midoriya could clearly see up her skirt, but there was nothing there. A reddening faced Izuku asked, "T-Tooru, are you, not w-wearing anything u-under your s-skirt?"

Hagakure said plainly, "No, I sometimes don't wear panties. Wait you didn't know?"

Midoriya almost fell out of his bed as he exclaimed, "O-Of course n-not!"

Tooru slowly said, "Oh. I just assumed you would have guessed I didn't; you are pretty smart about most things Izuku."

The boy tripped over his words as he said, "N-Not in the k-knowledge why or why not a g-girl chooses to w-wear their u-underwear."

"That's a good point I guess. I sometimes forget that you are a bit different than most boys. Here let me show you why," Hagakure said while grabbing Midroiya's chair at his desk. She sat down and turned herself so that she was facing the bed. The invisible girl then straightened her shirt before stating, "My parents were quick to notice after I obtained my quirk that whenever I sat down I would expose my underwear if I were wearing a skirt. Usually, a girl's legs would hide them unless you intentionally spread your legs apart."

Now in plain view, Izuku could see the blank space under her skirt in all its glory. His face became more crimson from the thought that she was technically exposing the lower half of her body to him. In all the other instances he had been with Tooru as she was sitting, her skirt was either under a table, or he was sitting right next to her and hadn't noticed her lack of clothing.

Tooru continued with, "So for a while, my parents had me always wear shorts or pants. However, as I started school, which had a school dress code for girls to wear skirts, my dad decided I just shouldn't wear panties when I wore skirts. My mom was against the idea, but eventually, she agreed as well."

Flustered, Midoriya asked, "D-Doesn't that m-make that a-a-area cold sometimes?

The green haired teen saw one of Hagakure's wristbands wave back and forth as she replied, "I've gotten used to it." She then scooted the chair closer and said, "You okay over there? It's not that embarrassing for me."

The boy meekly said, "I-It is for m-me."

Tooru sighed and got up from the chair, "Well let's talk about something else then."

Midoriya breathed in loudly and asked, "A-Actually I-I do have o-one more q-question about t-this."

"Shoot," Hagakure said rapidly.

Izuku covered his face as he quickly asked, "D-Do you also n-not wear a b-b-bra?"

Giggling the invisible girl said, "Of course I do silly. I've never had a problem with people looking down at me through my, um, neck hole to catch a peep. I just usually wear strapless ones."

Rubbing the back of his head, Izuku apologized by saying, "S-Sorry, was just c-curious."

Tooru was quick to respond with, "And it's okay to be curious, we're best friends remember?"

Midoriya gave a feeble smile and said, "R-Right."

Hagakure sat down next to the boy and asked, "So is there anything else you wanna ask?"

This got a jump from the green haired then. I'm sitting in my bed with a girl, he thought. But before letting the feeling get the best of him, Izuku said, "N-No. But I n-noticed you are wearing some b-bracelets as I suggested."

"Oh, these? Yeah, they are some snap bracelets, easy to put on and take off plus they are lightweight. I thought you would like them," Tooru said excitingly.

Happy with the change in the subject, and having calmed down, Izuku said, "Yeah be sure to continue to wear them if you have on a sleeveless or short sleeved shirt. Should help people better understand your body language despite your quirk."

Tooru snapped, "Plan to."

Izuku felt a hand grab his own. He looked down at his hand it then up to his invisible friend. His friend then said slowly, "I know this might sound too little, too late, but I want to apologize for not joining you during the cavalry battle today."

Memories of the second event came flooding back to Izuku. Because he won the race in the first event, he was worth the most points in the cavalry battle. Since he would be target number one, most participants avoided Midoriya. The boy understood, even at the time, all his classmates' decisions to avoid being his teammates, except Ochako. It greatly pleased him that at least one of his friends was willing to stick by him despite the disadvantage. He was also lucky the quirky engineer from the support class was happy to join. Izuku tried to remember her name, Mei was it? Either way, for their last teammate, he asked Fumikage to join, not only because of the unique defensive qualities of his quirk but he too was having trouble finding a team.

Midoriya tightened his grip and said, "It's fine Tooru. I can totally understand not wanting to be at such a huge disadvantage by being partnered with me."

Hagakure leaned in closer and said, "Well actually I wanted to be on your team, but then I saw Koda-san by himself and felt bad for him. He's an even more shy and nervous wreck than you." Well, she isn't exactly wrong, Izuku thought. Tooru continued, "I asked him to be on my team and before I knew it both Kyoka-san and Sato-san approached me as well. I just couldn't say no."

Izuku exhaled then said, "Again it's fine. Even if we all wanted to be on the same team it would have left one of us out. It was best that we went our separate ways, we can't always be together."

The girl huffed, "Well, either way, I just wanted to explain myself." Tooru then leaned her body even more towards him. Izuku's heart began to race. She then stated, "Hey that notebook by your bed looks similar to one you have on display."

Midoriya sighed in relief and then explained, "Yeah I've been keeping notes from my observations of quirks and heroes for years. This is just one of many. I was just reading this one last night."

Hagakure then requested, "Can I have a look at it?"

"This one is a bit old, but sure," the boy said as he released his hand from his friend and handed the article of papers to her.

For the next few minutes, Izuku stared at Tooru as she looked through his notebook. The cheerleader outfit really brought out her figure, Midoriya thought. This internal note was quickly thrown into the back of his mind as his as he made a note on how perverted that sounded coming from himself.

Hagakure then said in a confused voice, "Why is there so much on our class's firecracker in here?"

Midoriya stated, "Oh, I just write about any quirk I have observed."

The invisible heroine responded with, "I understand that but why so much about just him?"

Izuku scratched his shoulder and said, "Kacchan was the strongest quirk user at my daycare and my classes in elementary plus middle school. I admired his strength and how he fought, even if it wasn't always for the best of reasons. Most of my early notes were based on him because of that."

Tooru grunted, "I still don't see how you look at him in a positive light. Firecracker really grinds my gears sometimes."

Izuku looked back at his mounted autograph and said, "Well to tell you the truth. That notebook on the wall got it's burn marks from him."

"What? Why did he try to damage your autograph from All Might? I thought he looked up to him too in his own twisted way," Hagakure said with a disgusted tone.

Midoriya was quick to respond with, "He does! But he did that before All Might autographed it."

Tooru demanded, "Why did he do it?"

The boy sighed but said, "Cause he found out I had applied for the U.A. entrance exam."

"Oh. Right. And you were still quirkless at that point. Still, doesn't make him any less of an asshole of a bully," Tooru angrily said.

Izuku could feel the venom Tooru had for his childhood friend when she cursed. Cursing was something he rarely heard from her, unless when talking about Bakugo.

The invisible heroine stood up and said, "Sorry, this is neither the time or place to be getting this angry over someone like him." Tooru stood there for a moment before turning around. A wristband came up and pointed towards Izuku as she said, "Hey why do firecracker and Uraraka-san call you Deku sometimes? Did you know her from before arriving at U.A. as well?"

Midoriya shook his head and said, "No, it's just when Uraraka-san heard Kacchan call me Deku, she liked the name despite its meaning. She calls me it from time to time." Izuku figured that Tooru had heard the nickname of his come out of Ochako for the first time when all his friends had come to visit him after he lost the match.

"I guess it's alright if it's like that," Hagakure said with a hint of agitation.

Was she jealous? Or perhaps it was just that she hated the name since it Bakugo that had created it to bully him with? Either way, the discussion brought back another subject that Izuku had meant to ask Tooru. "Hey, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but was there a reason you were so silent when you came to visit me after my match with Todoroki-san and when I finally joined the stands to watch the last two matches? It just felt off."

His invisible friend sighed but answered, "Shock, really. I mean I have seen you get hurt before, but today was different. What you did today was really, really stupid and you could have gotten yourself permanently injured. I said nothing at the time because I was still trying to wrap my mind around what happened. Sorry if it seemed I didn't care, I was still just processing everything that had happened in your match."

Izuku tightened his fist in the sling. He hadn't told Tooru yet, but he had some scars on his right hand that might never fully heal. "Sorry to make you worry," the injured teen said in a sorrowful tone.

The girl grabbed Izuku's free hand and dragged him to his feet. She then said, "Still apologizing? Let's try and just focus on what's happening now, okay? Why don't you show me what all there is to your room?"

The rest of Tooru's visit was spent with Izuku gushing over all the things he had in his room. How he got them, what they meant to him, why he placed them where they were, etc. And during all of this, Tooru held Izuku's free hand tightly.

Once he was finished his friend relinquished her hand from his and said, "This has been fun Izuku. But I think this is where I gotta call it quits."

Midoriya was baffled as to why and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

Tooru said, "Well, you kinda smell of a boxing ring, and it's been getting worse."

She knew? Since when? By now Izuku's pits were damp and the hand he held with her was quite soaked with sweat. Either way, Izuku said, "I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry."

Hagakure was quick to respond, "No need to be sorry. You never had a chance to bathe since we left school. It didn't bother me that much at first, but it's pretty bad. It's the reason I was so quick to want to come to your room. I didn't want your mom to notice. She worries more about things than even you do, just like you said at lunch last week."

Tooru then approached Izuku and was quick to bring him into a hug. A big strong hug that he soon answered back with as well but slowly. Hagakure said gently, "Thanks for everything today. I know you brought me here more for me than yourself, but I think it was good for both of us." A few moments passed as Midoriya struggled to come up with a response but his friend then asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what made you wanna call me Hagakure-chan today?"

While still a difficult question, it wasn't as hard as responding to the hug, so the green haired teen replied, "Well I meant it when I said you are my best friend. And you've been calling me Midoriya-kun for some time now so at the very least I should respect how you see me, Hagakure-chan."

The invisible girl stepped back and said, "That's sweet of you and thanks." She then coughed before saying bluntly, "But really, take a shower after I leave because you are foul smelling."

After making Izuku turn around once again, Tooru changed back into her school uniform before leaving. After her departure, Inko asked her son if everything was alright. The younger Midoriya told his mom how Tooru felt on the bus drive home and why he had brought her there. His mom agreed that it was a good idea if a bit bold.

However, Inko asked again if everything was alright, but this time she asked about Tenya. Izuku was confused until his mother turned on the TV. Ida's absence was all clear now; his brother had been brutally attacked by a villain known as the Hero Killer. His brother was alive but in critical condition, no wonder Tenya had quickly left the Hero Festival.

After taking a bath, with the assistance of his mom because of his injuries, Izuku considered texting Tenya as he laid in bed. But he feared that this could come off as insensitive or not the right time to ask. Perhaps he would wait till class began again on Thursday? Sleep claimed the teen before he could make up his mind.

* * *

Tuesday was mostly spent resting for Izuku. He was hoping his tall friend would say something in the group chat, but nothing came. Come Wednesday Midoriya was getting quite distressed. He was close to texting Ida till he considered another option. Maybe Ochako would have been able to contact Tenya; they were close as well. Izuku hoped for the best as he sent a private text to his her.

All Might: Hey sorry to send this privately, but I wasn't sure it was best to ask on our group chat. Have you been able to contact Ida-san at all? I'm worried about him since learning what happened to his brother.

About an hour passed before Midoriya felt his phone vibrate.

Bubbles: Sort of.

What kind of response was that? Especially after so long? Something had to be up.

All Might: Is everything okay? How did you contact him?

After a few minutes, another response came.

Bubbles: I'm actually at his house at the moment. Ida-san has been mostly himself so far, though a bit cold to me at times.

Izuku almost dropped his phone after reading her response. Seems like he was not the only one that had been bold over the break.

All Might: And his brother?

Bubbles: He won't be able to be a hero anymore. He has spine damage and is paralyzed from the waist down. But he should live.

Midoriya held his free hand over his mouth in shock. He figured Tenya was feeling what Izuku had felt when he saw All Might struggle against Nomu. The feeling of the possibility of one's idol retiring from being a hero. Except here with Ida, it must have been much, much worse since it actually happened, and to a family member nonetheless. Thank the stars his brother was going to pull through, Izuku thought.

All Might: I can't even imagine what Ida-san must be feeling. Thanks for telling me, help him if you can.

Bubbles: Thanks for the concern. I'll try my best.

Izuku placed his phone down and sat back in his bed. He hoped everything would work out for Tenya.

* * *

 **Something I forgot about until I wrote this chapter, was the traitor in U.A. that has been established in the manga. We still don't know who it is (as of chapter 149 in the manga), but it got me thinking, ah crap I hope it isn't Tooru. I mean it wouldn't be the end of this story, in fact, it might be interesting to write about if I could fit it in this story, but man would it be a bummer if it was true for how I want to go with this fic.**

 **So now we have about a month until the Final Exam arc picks up steam, and boy do I** **plan to use it to the best of my ability. I will probably make about 2-3 chapters to cover this time, but it will depend on how things go as I write it.**

 **Work started again this week for me and even with a medium size load of work, writing this chapter in a decent amount of time was very hard. I only began writing this chapter Thursday and woke up on Saturday with only around 4k words typed. I have to work this entire Sunday (rare but happens) so I worked on this chapter most of Saturday and early into Sunday to release this now, instead of late Sunday or possibly even into early Monday. It's like almost 4 am where I am now as I published this. With that said, I'm going to see how two weeks between each chapter works for now. If it works, then that will be the standard from now on. If I struggle to write the next chapter, I might increase it by another week. All I know is starting in two weeks school starts for most kids, going with what happened last year, I will be swamped with work until like Thanksgiving. So I hope I will see you all again on September 3rd!**


	7. Enter the Everything Heroine

Chapter 7: Enter the Everything Heroine

But sadly not everything one hopes for comes true.

A lot had happened the week that followed the Hero Festival. But now wasn't the time to reminisce about the past. Izuku had more pressing things to be concerned about. Like where was Tenya, and was he okay? Midoriya's brief run-in with the murderous Hero Killer was over, and he was back at school. But for some reason, Tenya didn't show up for classes that Monday morning. Which concerned Midoriya because he had seen the tall teen on the school grounds before class. Ida didn't say much and only said he needed a minute to relax before going to class when Izuku asked if everything was alright. The shorter teen decided to give Tenya his space but was now kicking himself for not pressing him more.

At the moment Midoriya was trying to catch up to Uraraka. She was taking this the hardest and was frantically looking for Ida expecting the worst as she raced up flights of stairs. After the lunch bell had rung, Izuku told the zero-gravity heroine that he had seen Tenya before class. This turned out to be a terrible idea, as she immediately dashed out of the classroom in tears. Luckily he asked her to wait until the classroom had emptied before talking to her. Otherwise, that might have caused a scene. Midoriya finally caught up to her and grabbed her shoulders before saying, "Uraraka-san you need to calm down!"

The girl was a teary mess and didn't say anything. Izuku pleaded, "Look we need to think this through, okay?" Ochako nodded slowly. Raising his hands Midoriya continued, "Stay here, and I'll look for Ida-san on the roof." Another nod came from the girl, and he made his way to the roof, feeling nauseous. It pained Izuku that Ochako's first thought was that Tenya considered suicide. He was quite sure his tall friend would never consider the idea but to reassure her, and a small part of himself, he had to be sure. Midoriya saw no sign of anyone once he reached the top. Looking over the railing did give him the chills but after looking all over, he saw no sign of what Uraraka had feared.

As Izuku went back down the stairs to rejoin Ochako, he considered possible places Tenya could have gone. Drawing a blank, he instead thought of another classmate that might know of his location. As the zero-gravity heroine came into view, an idea hit him. Midoriya offered a hand to Uraraka and said, "He wasn't up there, and I couldn't see him on the school grounds. But I have an idea of someone who would know where Ida-san could be. Follow me."

As the pair made their way to the cafeteria Izuku thought back to the hospital on that horrible day. Tenya had been cold to both his and Shoto's attempts to cheer him up as they sat in their sick beds. Even Tokodori's realization that whenever he got involved with his classmates their hands got hurt, didn't get a reaction out of the tall teen. Ida had received possible permanent scars on his hand, just as Midoriya had when he fought at the Hero Festival. When he tried to push further he was met with silence. Izuku eventually figured that his friend just needed time and space to heal his body and mind but now all of this was happening. Should he have done more?

As they arrived in the cafeteria, Izuku began looking through the crowd. After a minute he finally saw her waiting in line for food. But before he could get there Tooru and Mashirao stepped in front of him and Ochako. Ojiro asked in a worried voice, "Woah Midoriya-san, what gives? What's with the rush you two? Has something happened?"

Tooru was quick to add, "Can we be of any help?"

"I don't know if you can but follow me," Izuku explained. The two then followed as he continued towards his target. After reaching her, Midoriya asked, "Yaoyorozu-san, we need your help."

The tall girl gave a puzzled look as she turned around to the group in front of her and asked, "What's the problem?"

Midoriya explained, "We can't find Ida-san. But he was definitely at school today before classes began, I saw and talked to him. We think he might be in trouble."

Uraraka finally spoke up in a shaky voice, "I-It's not l-like him to s-skip a c-class."

Momo looked at Ochako and gave a pained look. But her face quickly changed to a serious one, and she said, "I think I might know where he is. Midoriya-san and Ochako-san if you would please follow me."

Tooru was quick to interject, "Hey what about us? We wanna help too!"

Momo apologized, "Sorry Hagakure-san, Ojiro-san, but I will only need these two for this to work. Just enjoy your lunch, we got this."

Tooru took a step forward to protest but Mashirao held a hand to block the invisible heroine, and he stated, "We understand, now go find Ida-san!"

Momo had led them to gym Gamma. Izuku expected them to go into the gym itself, but the class vice president made her way to the side of the building. Inside, Midoriya saw that they had entered a trophy room. Trophies, medals, plaques, and certificates littered the walls of the hallway. As they entered Momo turned around and had a finger over her mouth. Both Izuku and Ochako nodded before they continued down the hall. As they came to a turn, Yaoyorozu held up a hand to stop. She then signaled them to stay there by pointing down with both her hands. She then continued to the right, alone. Uraraka gave a concerning look to Midoriya, but he just shrugged at what was happening. Before Ochako could answer back, a voice came around the corner. In a calm tone, Momo said, "I thought I would find you here, class president."

Dryly, the voice of Tenya responded back, "Hello Yaoyorozu-san. You found me quickly. I'm a bit surprised."

"Well I am your vice president, I would hope I could understand my superior enough to know where to find him," Momo stated.

In a sober tone, Ida said, "You say that, but we both know you are smarter than me. Plus you deserve your position; you got the votes, I was just handed the job."

Angrily the tall girl said, "Well take the advice from the person you consider smarter than you. I think you deserve to be our class president regardless of votes."

With no hint of anger, Ida said, "You are too kind, like always. Anyways, how did you figure I would be here?"

"Ida-san, you admire your brother more than anyone else in this world. You never stop talking about him during our meetings, where we should be more concerned about our class duties. And after all that happened last week, it just seemed logical that you would come to the one place on the school that commemorates your brother so highly," Momo said coolly.

With melancholy, Ida said, "It is a big trophy, isn't it?"

"He was the only student thus far at our school to come in first place in all the events at a Hero Festival," Yaoyorozu stated.

Izuku didn't know this fact and was very impressed. He then looked to Ochako and noticed she was biting down hard on a finger to try and keep quiet. Midoriya hesitated but then grabbed her free hand and whispered as soft as he could, "Don't do that Uraraka-san. Just squeeze my hand if you wanna focus on something else." She gave a slight blush but nodded slowly.

After some silence, Tenya spoke up and said, "My mom recorded my brother's accomplishments that day. I still watch it from time to time. It truly was incredible."

Momo sighed, "It probably was." The tall girl then continued in a raised voice, "But let me get to my point. You skipped class. All morning classes. And in less than an hour, we're going to be late for All Might-sensei's lesson today if we don't leave promptly."

After exhaling loudly, the speedy hero apologized, "Sorry about that. I didn't anticipate skipping class; my original plan was just to skip lunch."

Momo asked with concern, "So what changed your mind?"

"I saw Midoriya-san just outside the campus before I worked up the courage to enter the school. When I saw him, I lost that courage and came here to think," Ida said coldly.

The tall girl huffed, "And why is that?"

Finally, with some happiness in his voice, Tenya said, "Midoriya-san is a real hero, unlike me. He is everything I wish I was. He reminds me of my brother, a lot. And to see him come up to me and be so concerned about my well-being over his own despite everything I have done, it just broke me."

Momo again asked, "And how do you see him as a true hero?"

Ida lectured, his voice growing louder as he went, "Midoriya-san wasn't concerned about points during the entrance exam. Instead, he saved Uraraka-san, avoiding the arbitrary concept of defeating foes for a grade and instead saved someone from harm. Then he was voted class president but instead gave it to me, avoiding the glory and prestige that could come with such a position. Midoriya-san broke his body so he could pull Todoroki-san towards the right path, allowing him to use his fire quirk finally, but this also ensured Midoriya-san's defeat. He gave help to someone when it wasn't asked. I should have learned from Todoroki that day that revenge is pointless. Yet I continued down the same path and look where it got me!"

Tears again were flowing from Ochako's eyes, Izuku noticed. She held her free hand over her mouth and increased her grip on Izuku's hand to control her sobs and keep quiet. Midoriya himself was fighting back tears, but he shook his head and continued listening.

In shock, Yaoyorozu said, "Wait I thought you just ran into the Hero Killer by chance. You sought him out?"

Coldly Ida responded, "I did. Can you see now why I am so ashamed of myself? I got people almost killed because of my behavior. We should have been dead, but it was only because of the will of that manic that we are even still alive today."

Momo sounded confused when she asked, "Who's we?"

"Midoriya-san and Todoroki-san were there as well. They didn't stumble onto the scene either like you might have been told, they came to rescue me. And I almost got them killed," Tenya said with misery in his tone. He then continued by saying, "I don't deserve to be in Midoriya-san's circle of friends. So I thought I would just skip lunch while I tried to figure out an excuse to stop visiting them in the cafeteria every day."

Izuku couldn't take it anymore and whispered, "I'm sorry Uraraka-san, I have to go out there."

The rustle of feet got both Momo and Tenya to look down the hall to see Midoriya appear around the corner breathing heavily. Izuku exclaimed,"Ida-san stop this! We all make mistakes. But it's how we learn from them is what counts. Take these faults and become better because of it!"

Momo calmly said, "Was wondering when you were finally gonna chip in Midoriya-san."

Izuku turned to the tall girl and asked, "Wait, you planned for me to come out?"

Before Momo could respond, Ida said, "So you were here as well, huh? Doesn't change the fact that I've treated you and Uraraka-san like trash since we met."

Midoriya in a shaky voice said, "W-What?"

With tears in his eyes, Ida continued, "I berated you before the entrance exam for stupid reasons. I left Uraraka-san to fend for herself during the entrance exam. I selfishly took the class president position from you without a second thought. I rejected your partnership during the Kibasen, to better my odds of advancing to the next round. I dismissed the help you and Uraraka-san offered me before we left for the internship. I selfishly put my revenge above my internship, putting my classmate's and other pro heroes lives at stake in the process. I'm nothing but trash to you people. I cannot understand why you keep trying to be my friend."

It was a lot to take in. Izuku could only sigh as he saw Tenya bawling his eyes out on all fours facing the ground. But after a few minutes, Midoriya spoke, "I realize you have faults, Ida-san. But I also see the good in you. And because of those positives, I can look past your mistakes, cause I know deep down you mean well and want to be a great hero, like your brother."

Tenya rolled backward into a sitting position and took off his glasses to wipe away his tears. After a few sniffles, he said, "Y-You really mean t-that?"

Momo finally returned to the conversation by saying, "Of course he does, it's why I brought him here in the first place. I knew my words alone wouldn't be enough."

This got a chuckle out of Ida as he began to stand up. He then put on his glasses and approached Midoriya. Tenya then said, "Midoriya-san I want you to hit me as hard as you can without your quirk."

Izuku took a step back shaking his head. Even though he appreciated the gesture to not use his quirk, he didn't think even a normal punch was necessary.

Yaoyorozu held up her hands and said, "Woah now! I didn't bring Midoriya-san here to beat you up."

Ida tried to argue, "But I deserve to be-."

Momo interrupted, "That's why I brought Uraraka-san."

Ochako sprinted out of the corner and tackled Tenya in the chest which knocked him over, all the while screaming, "TENYA YOU IDIOT!"

She started to beat on his chest, without much force but enough to make a point while sobbing, "I-I thought you m-might had k-killed yourself by j-jumping off the r-roof. And y-you were just h-here looking at some d-dumb old t-trophy about your b-brother. If you l-look up to h-him so much, w-why not just c-call him or something to h-help you through w-whatever you are g-going through. H-How's a s-stupid piece of m-metal gonna h-help you with w-when you have the r-real thing still at the h-hospital?"

After she finished, Tenya got up which pushed Ochako onto to her knees. While also on his knees, Ida gave Uraraka a tight hug and sobbed, "I-I want to y-you to know I n-never considered such thing like s-suicide. B-But regardless, I'm s-sorry I made you worry so m-much."

Ochako softly said, "I-Idiot." She then returned his embrace.

The two standing teens stepped back to the corner where Izuku and Ochako originally hid to give the two in the embrace some privacy. Izuku's face was a bit red as he turned to Momo and asked, "Did you plan for all of this to happen?"

With a bit of crimson in her cheeks as well, Yaoyorozu explained, "Well most of it. I didn't expect these two to be so affectionate though."

Izuku didn't either. He then said, "Thanks so much for helping find and calm down Ida-san."

Momo responded with, "It wasn't all just me, I couldn't have done it without you two." She then placed a hand on her chin and continued, "I should apologize to the other two we left behind, however. I was just afraid them joining us would be too much stimuli for Ida-san to handle."

Izuku pondered a bit, and an idea hit him. With a confidence, the boy said, "Say I know a way you could apologize to them properly."

Intrigued the tall girl asked, "Oh, and what would you suggest Midoriya-san?

With a smile, Izuku asked, "How about joining my group for lunch tomorrow to make amends with them?"

* * *

The lunch skipping group of four barely made it to class in time after all that had happened. Izuku didn't have a chance to explain to Tooru or Mashirao the situation, but he promised he would tell them after school as they left to go get changed.

All Might had another special class for his students. A rescue-training race! The hulking hero split the class into four teams of five and had them race from the sides of field Gamma, an industrial zone, towards All Might, who was in the center. Here Izuku was ready to show his progress with One for All to his classmates but more importantly to his mentor.

Last week Izuku and the rest of the hero course did a temporary internship with pro heroes in hopes to establish contacts, observe pro heroes at work, and maybe even learn something new about their quirks or themselves in the process. If not chosen by a pro hero, they would have to choose from a pre-selected list to internship with. Izuku was prepared to spend quite some time analyzing each hero to find a match that would best suit him, but All Might was quick to tell Midoriya that he had already been chosen. His mentor's reaction to who had selected him had spooked the boy. All Might revealed that it was his former homeroom teacher back when he attended U.A. himself. The man had also personally trained him to access his quirk fully.

After traveling a bit, Midoriya arrived at the run-down building of the retired pro hero named Gran Torino. At first, Izuku thought the old man was senile and wasn't going to be of any help, but he soon learned he couldn't be more wrong. Even at his advanced age, the short hero did quick work of Izuku, exposing his flaws in the process. But thanks to the elder hero, Izuku figured out a way to better use One for All. Instead of using it as a switch on a particular part of his body, he instead figured out on how to use it as a valve over his entire body. He could only maintain it a five percent, but it was vastly more battle ready than his failed attempts to hold back during the Hero Festival. Midoriya had spent three days sparring with Gran Torino to better grasp his new ability, which he called Full Cowl.

However, despite using Full Cowl to gain an early advantage in the race, he slipped while landing on a pipe after a long jump across a gap in the buildings and fell, making Izuku last place in the race. Despite the short time he was in the lead; his classmates were astonished at his progress. All Might also was impressed and whispered to Midoriya to meet him after class to reveal everything about One for All and himself as he passed by. As tempted as Izuku was to learn more about his quirk and his mentor he didn't want to delay speaking to Tooru and Mashirao about Ida any further. Once everyone had left after the lesson, Midoriya approached his mentor and asked, "Can our meeting wait until tomorrow, sir? I already promised to meet some friends after school today. It's really important I talk with them. Some complicated stuff happened earlier today."

All Might stood there with a hand on his chin as he pondered at his student's request. But eventually, the hulking hero said, "This has something to do with the Hagakure lass, no?"

Izuku gave a slight blush and said, "W-Well not exactly, Ojiro-."

His idol interrupted Izuku by proclaiming, "Heh, say no more my boy. I'll see you tomorrow after classes are finished."

* * *

After school, Izuku caught his first two friends at U.A. up to speed with everything that had happened earlier as well as during the Hero Killer incident. They stayed in their classroom once everyone had left, similar to their first meeting.

Izuku was supposed to keep to the story that Endeavor had subdued the Hero Killer. What he, Ida, Tokodori, and the other pro heroes who did not collaborate with the police did that day could have gotten them in trouble with the law. For the three students, it was even more serious; they had used their quirks without supervision from their assigned pro hero. The police chief of Shibuya was lenient however because of the actions of the three, led to the madman's capture. The dog-faced chief allowed them all to go unpunished if they revoked having any involvement with catching the Hero Killer and instead attributed the arrest to the efforts of Endeavor, which they all agreed to eventually. Izuku felt he needed to expose the lie to the two, as it would make explaining why Tenya was absent and where he was easier. The tall teen had already revealed the truth to Ochako and Momo in the trophy room; it made sense to tell the two that were sitting next to him at the moment. He also made sure to apologize for keeping them in the dark about everything. After the long explanation, his friends remained quiet as they processed what Midoriya had just told them.

Tooru finally broke the silence by asking, "Did you ever think Ida-san would have even considered committing suicide?"

From her tone, Izuku could tell his invisible friend was very disturbed at this thought. He calmly said, "No, I really couldn't fathom him doing such a thing, but I had to be sure for Uraraka-san's sake. I feel she just assumed the worse, but then again she did visit him yesterday and might have had a better idea of Ida-san's state of mind than any of us could. But back to the point, I also wanted to get to the rooftop for a good vantage point to see if Ida-san was still wandering the school grounds like when I met him before school. If it wasn't for Yaoyorozu-san, I don't know how we would have found him. I don't want to think how things could have turned out if I hadn't asked for her help."

Mashirao spoke up and said, "From the sound of it, if you hadn't found Ida-san, he would have just made some excuse to stop sitting at our table indefinitely and would have begun to avoid interacting with you Midoriya-san." Izuku could only nod at the Ojiro's logic. The thought of Ida ceasing their friendship so hastily did disturb Midoriya a bit.

Tooru then said with a shaky voice, "This whole thing with that Hero Killer is a just a huge mess. What you three did was incredibly dangerous and stupid. That was a real villain, not just some street punk. You said it yourself Midoriya-kun, that murderer could have killed you all if he wanted to."

Ojiro raised an eyebrow as he noticed the honorific change Tooru had given Izuku, but ignored it for the moment and then stated, "I'm sure Midoriya-san did what he did because of the heat of the moment. He had to deal with his train getting attacked by one of those artificial things, Midoriya-san's internship mentor leaving him to fend for himself, wandering Hosu trying to avoid the carnage of the villain attack, and then seeing both Ida-san and the pro hero injured with that psychopath looming over them. His actions make total sense to me after he went through such a hectic string of events." Tooru could only groan in response. She still wasn't happy about the situation, Izuku thought. Mashirao continued by saying, "Least it's all over."

Hagakure was quick to answer back, "Is it though? What's to say they, I mean Midoriya-kun, won't try something like this again?" She then turned to Midoriya and said, "Look I understand what you did was the right thing for a true hero to do. But having that kind of conviction when we are still heroes in training could get you killed one these days."

Tooru brought an arm up and brought the sleeve across her face. Great, now he made her shed tears, Izuku thought. Trying to lift his invisible friend's spirits, he apologized by saying, "You're right Hagakure-chan, I wasn't thinking straight. I should have called for help so another pro hero would be with me before I confronted the Hero Killer. I can't expect to fix everything by myself; I'm still just a kid that's just getting the hang of my quirk after all."

Ojiro joined in again by saying, "Well don't be so hard on yourself about your quirk. What you did today was quite remarkable. You've come a long way in such a short amount of time considering that you came to this school breaking your limbs every time you activated your quirk."

"That I can agree with, Ojiro-san," Hagakure said in a sniffle. Izuku sighed in relief hearing his two friends say this, especially his best friend. She then continued by saying, "So is there anything else you need to tell us?"

Midoriya searched his thoughts of anything he might have forgotten. Eventually, something came, and he spoke, "Actually there is one thing. I invited Yaoyorozu-san to our table after everything she did for us today. She wanted to apologize to you two for telling you not to come. She might not stay after tomorrow, but I thought I should give the heads up to you guys."

Tooru was quick to say, "Good idea! Maybe I can convince her to stay; we need another girl with us at lunch."

"Are you sure Hagakure-san? She seems a bit too spiffy to want to hang out with the likes of us every day," Ojiro stated dryly.

The invisible girl then retorted, "What makes you say that?"

Mashirao shrugged and said, "Just an observation."

Izuku held up both his hands between his friends and said, "Hey guys, we should let her choose if she wants to continue coming after tomorrow. No need to argue about it until she makes that decision." The two gave small grunts and turned away from one another. Midoriya, to break the tension that lingered in the room, then asked, "So is there anything else you guys want to know? I've said all I can think of."

Tooru stood up and spoke, "Lots, but I need some time to think about it all. I'll text you tonight with any questions I have Midoriya-kun if I can't wait until tomorrow."

The boys both said their farewells to her, and the invisible girl made her leave. Once the door closed, Ojiro turned to Midoriya with a sly smirk and said, "Now what I would like to know is how long this 'Midoriya-kun' has been a thing?"

Izuku got up and faced away from his friend and muttered, "A w-while."

Midoriya could hear the shuffle of a desk, and soon Ojiro was in front of him. He then asked, "How long is a while?"

"I-I'd rather n-not answer this q-question in d-detail," Izuku stuttered.

Mashirao then chuckled and said, "So it's been quite some time I'm guessing. What, since we started school?" Midoriya tried to hide the blush that was forming on his face. A bewildered look came upon the tailed teen's face, and he said, "Wait, it's been that long? I was only joking before."

Izuku replied while poking his two index fingers together, "Actually she started calling me that right after our first rescue training with All Might-sensei."

The tailed teen asked, "And how about you calling her Hagakure-chan?"

The green haired teen's head sunk into his shoulders as he answered, "Last F-Friday."

"Man, I'm surprised you two are not a couple yet," Ojiro said in a baffled tone.

Midoriya responded with, "We're just g-good friends is all. I-I'm not r-ready to have a g-girlfriend yet."

Mashirao responded, "Sorry to tease you. I'm not trying to push you to do anything rash. I won't pry any further." He then put a hand on Izuku's shoulder, "We should probably get going home, it's getting late."

Midoriya pulled out his phone from his pocket before asking, "Wait before we go, mind if we exchange numbers? I also want to add you to our group chat; everyone else is already on it."

Ojiro gave a look of surprise, but it quickly turned into a slight glare, "You haven't added our new invite already to this group chat, have you?"

Izuku gave a shocked look before saying, "What? No. Why would you think that?"

With little emotion, the tailed teen stated, "Just checking."

The green haired teen found Mashirao's attitude about Momo possibly joining the group as alarming. Did he have some grudge with her? Izuku couldn't think of any times the two acted negatively towards one another. He also found it odd that his current behavior was entirely different to during lunch. Ojiro was quick to accept Yaoyorozu's decision to exclude him and Hagakure from helping with Ida. So why the sudden change? Midoriya felt like he had to address this now. "I-If you have a p-problem with Yaoyorozu-san, I-I think you should t-tell me," he proclaimed while stuttering.

A bit peeved, Mashirao responded back, "Look, I just know her type and how they usually treat us average folk."

As Izuku was about to ask what "her type" meant, but his tailed friend held up a hand and said, "Look I've already said too much. Tell you what, I'll explain later if tomorrow's lunch goes south because of her inclusion. If everything turns out fine, I will suck it up and try to be friends with her, okay?"

Midoriya not wanting to argue any further exhaled and said, "Fine." The two then added each other's phone numbers and made their way out of the classroom.

* * *

Midoriya was currently doing laps around a park nearby his apartment complex. As much as he wanted to use Full Cowl during his exercise, he knew it would just get him in trouble if he used such a flashy quirk out in the open. So just regular jogging would have to do. On his fifth lap, Izuku felt his pocket shake. Taking out his phone he noticed it was a text from Tooru. Midoriya thought, she probably has a question about all that happened today.

Blank: Busy?

All Might: Was just on a run, but I can take a break. Have something to ask?

Blank: Yes but nothing about today.

The text got Izuku to scratch his head. After a minute another text followed.

Blank: Do you mind if I come to your place again sometime soon? Again, I have no issue if you think this is too soon after my last visit. I want you to be comfortable with this.

For once, Izuku didn't feel like freaking out at her request. Sure, he felt a little apprehensive about it, but it was something he thought he could handle. Midoriya wondered, was he getting used to this?

All Might: It's fine. How about this Wednesday?

Blank: Oh, I forgot to mention before, I have a trainer that I meet on Wednesdays after school.

The text baffled Izuku. Tooru has a coach? What could she be doing with this person? Did they have a quirk similar to Transparency? He decided he would have to wait to ask this question until her visit. Midoriya then considered what day would be best. Tuesday felt too soon. He also felt Friday wouldn't be the best choice. Hagakure might try to stay longer, possibly through dinner since it would be the start of the weekend, he thought.

All Might: Thursday?

Blank: That will work.

All Might: Ok then. I should get back to this jog. Later.

Blank: See you at school tomorrow!

Izuku put his phone back into his pocket and continued his run around the park. As he ran, thoughts of what to do Thursday flooded his head. Midoriya wanted Hagakure's visit to be different this time. Last time was a spur of the moment event that he thought he rode on the seat of his pants the entire time. To Izuku, it felt as a desperate attempt to cheer his friend up. But should he instead just go with the flow? Would trying to make it perfect end up backfiring? What would be considered an ideal outcome from Tooru coming over? Midoriya eventually decided at the very least he wanted to start it on a good note. But what could he do different this time? Well, shower was one, Izuku thought as he felt sweat begin to pour down his back. However, an idea came to mind, but he was going to need his mother's help to make this work.

* * *

Izuku was in a bit of a pickle as he stood in the cafeteria the next day. In front of him, Mashirao and Momo were already sitting down at the circular table. They were opposite of each other. The dilemma was who to sit next to. Momo was new, and it would be a nice gesture to sit by her, even if it unnerved Midoriya a bit. Just looking at the tailed teen, Izuku could tell he was uncomfortable with the situation. But before he could ponder this further both Tenya and Ochako approached the table and sat on each side of Momo. Sighing in relief that he wouldn't have to make the decision, after all, Midoriya sat down next to Ojiro.

"Sup," Mashirao said dryly.

Izuku noticed Momo was busy talking to Ochako and then whispered, "You going to be okay?"

Ojiro took a sip of his drink and then said, "I'll manage."

Tooru then showed up and sat in the last seat available, which was between Izuku and Ochako.

Hagakure happily stated, "Oh, it feels so great to have a full table for once!"

This got a small chuckle out of Momo, and she said, "Thanks, Hagakure-san." She gave a slight bow and said with sincerity, "But the reason I am here is that I want to apologize to you and Ojiro-san for being insensitive yesterday. I should have considered your friendships with Ida-san might have been helpful."

Mashirao was quick to respond, "It's fine. I understand that you would consider Midoriya-san and Uraraka-san as closer to Ida-san than us two, which is true. Besides, I'm sure you had a plan in place that didn't include Hagakure-san or me. You were doing what you thought was best for Ida-san, and it worked, so no need to apologize."

Momo and Izuku had a look of surprise on their faces. He didn't expect his tailed friend to be so forgiving after everything he had previously expressed towards Momo. Maybe this logic was why he was so willing to be left behind yesterday with Tooru. So Mashirao appreciated what she did to help Tenya but has some beef with what she represents perhaps, thought the green haired teen.

Yaoyorozu said a bit hesitantly, "Um, thanks."

Ida then spoke up, "Thanks for being so understanding Ojiro-san. But I'd also like to apologize to everyone for yesterday. I considered leaving this group without even talking about everything that had happened and considering your feelings. That was selfish of me, and I'm glad I was able to change my mind and be here today."

"It's all good; you went through a lot these last few weeks. You just needed some encouragement," said Ojiro while giving thumbs up.

Midoriya chipped in, "Which I was glad to give to Ida-san."

Hagakure finished by saying, "Just be sure to talk with us if you ever need a shoulder to lean on in the future, okay?"

A hiccup came from Uraraka. The group turned to see that she was holding back tears the best she could. Ochako then said weakly, "Y-you g-guys…"

Momo brought a hand up to the gravity heroine's shoulder and said, "You got a solid group of friends here."

After a few sniffs, Uraraka meekly grinned and said, "Y-Yeah. The b-best."

The group finally began to dig into their meals with only small talk in-between eating. Izuku, however, stayed silent and kept his attention on Mashirao. At the moment the tailed teen was talking to Tenya about the injuries he received from the Hero Killer. Midoriya couldn't sense any stress from his friend as he spoke with Ida. Perhaps Ojiro had gotten over his ire for the vice president, he hoped.

As lunch came to a close, Momo spoke up and said, "Hey guys, I know this sounds a bit sudden but would you all be up to coming to my place this Saturday to start studying for the final exams?"

Ochako and Tenya immediately voiced being for the idea.

Izuku remembered what happened just hours before. Eraserhead had forewarned his class of the upcoming tests before the summer break was only about a month away. The teacher continued by announcing that there would be a summer training camp, as he felt an entire month without school was, illogical. The kicker though was that they had to pass to go. Otherwise, they would remain on campus for summer school. Izuku considered this an excellent opportunity to be with his friends in a different setting from school, without having to go through the logistics of setting up a meetup. A change in pace in how he studied and the chance to learn more about Momo couldn't hurt, Izuku thought. Izuku then too pronounced his support for it as well.

Tooru and Mashirao, however, weren't as enthusiastic about the idea. Both did say they would consider it and give an answer before Friday. To Midoriya, Ojiro being apprehensive about the idea made sense. But why Hagakure? Yes, she had previously voiced against talking about academic subjects in the past. Her excuse then was just that she was against discussing studies at the table. This would be after school. Did Tooru just find the typical aspects of school boring? Was she cautious because of what Ojiro had said the day before? No, that didn't make sense, his best friend seemed pretty open about Momo coming to the table today, and wasn't too happy with Mashirao's coldness towards the new arrival yesterday.

Even with just the three that did agree to the study session, Momo was okay in still doing it. She said she would figure out the specifics when she got home and would tell them the details at tomorrow's lunch. This pretty much confirmed her interest in continuing to meet up with the group of friends in Izuku's eyes.

The bell for lunch's end soon rang, and the students departed towards class. Mashirao picked up the pace and separated himself from the group as they walked back to class.

The green haired teen caught up to him and asked, "Everything okay?"

After giving a long-winded sigh, the tailed teen groaned, "It's complicated."

Midoriya then questioned, "Well, can you at least tell me how you felt lunch with Yaoyorozu-san went?"

Agitated, Mashirao said, "It was alright until that offer of hers. I bet she's just using the study group as a way to show off."

With a confused look, Izuku asked, "Show off what? Her smarts? Isn't that why it's a good idea to study with her?

Ojiro brought his fingers to between his eyes and pressed on his nose as he said, "No, that's not what-." There was a pause, then he looked back at his friend, "Look I'll text you about it later today, okay? I've got a lot on my mind at the moment."

At least it was something, Izuku thought. He responded with, "Alright, sometime after school then."

* * *

Midoriya's meeting with All Might after school had been quite heavy. Just walking in the office, Midoriya felt the tension in the room. The skeleton of a man started by apologizing to his student about not being around for him lately despite everything that had happened. The conversation then turned to One for All, and All Might laid it bare. Izuku learned that transferring the quirk by DNA required the owner to will it. This meant that he didn't accidentally give it to the Hero Killer when the murderer consumed his blood, but it could also mean it could be forced on someone.

But the bombshell was the origin of One for All. A different quirk called All for One, which could steal quirks permanently was the source of its creation. As his mentor explained the quirk in detail, Izuku had a hard time comprehending the idea of an all-powerful being that could wield so many quirks hiding in the shadows for apparently centuries. He had heard rumors similar to this on the internet before but when he tried to find more about it in textbooks he couldn't find a thing, so he dismissed the idea as a wild conspiracy theory. When he voiced this fact to All Might, he rebutted it by stating the existence of the Yazuka as well known despite their small presence in literature. The sickly man continued by saying, "The more power you have in the underworld, the easier it is to erase your existence from the public. The fact that this man's presence is such a whisper to the world of the commoner tells you how powerful he is."

However, the tone of All Might changed as he brought up the younger brother of All for One. A quirkless man with a strong sense of justice, it reminded Izuku of himself and even his mentor. Midoriya remembered back to the Hero Festival, not long after his surgery. All Might had revealed that he too was quirkless before receiving One for All. It brought down his idol to Izuku's his level, it was comforting, as was learning the nature of the younger sibling of All for One. For whatever reason, the villain gave his brother a power-stocking quirk. It surprised Midoriya to hear that the younger brother, in fact, wasn't quirkless, but had the power to transfer quirks, which was worthless by itself. It then all came together. The two mutated together to become One for All, and as the quirk transferred from person to person, its power increased. The thought that one day, after Izuku mastered his quirk, he would be stronger than All Might in his prime was a bit overwhelming for the teen.

Izuku was swift to tell his mentor that he was willing to stand against All for One as long as his idol was beside him. The teen's bravado had been cemented once he learned that All Might's current sorry state was because of this evildoer. To Midoriya, it seemed his outburst had startled his teacher and left him silent for a bit. Wouldn't All Might want his student to succeed where he had failed? Eventually, the skeleton of man did thank his successor, but he then ended the conversation about One for All there. Izuku was still curious about what else All Might wanted to reveal about himself, but figured the talk had taken a lot out of him and didn't want to push it any further.

Before he left, however, All Might stated, "I received a bit of a gift for you yesterday. I don't know when it will present itself to you specifically but you will enjoy it nonetheless once it does." This confused Midoriya but he didn't ask anymore more his teacher.

* * *

By now Izuku was on his bed. Almost an hour had passed since he entered his room. The whole time he had spent trying to process all this new information as well as ponder at what his mentor meant by this "gift". The vibration of his phone finally broke his concentration. In earnest, he grabbed his phone off his desk.

Lion: Hey, I'm ready to talk. You ready to listen?

Wait, his icon is a lion? This puzzled Midoriya as to why. Regardless, he texted back rapidly.

All Might: Yep.

Lion: Well I'm conflicted about going to our newcomer's study session.

All Might: Well obviously. But why?

A few minutes passed before a response came.

Lion: I would love to study with you guys, but I just think my beef with her type of people would get in the way of things.

Izuku was getting a bit frustrated with Mashirao's constant "her type" of talk.

All Might: You keep saying "her type" but I honestly don't know what you mean? Care to tell?

Lion: Dude, she's filthy stinking rich.

Midoriya scratched his head at the text. That's what this is about?

All Might: What makes you say that? And why would it matter if she is?

Lion: It's obvious man. Her hero costume, demeanor, grades, eating habits. Regardless I can't stand those types of people.

Bewildered, Izuku thought, where was all this coming from? The boy did admit Momo's costume was quite revealing, but he failed to link that it was because she was well off. Her grades and personality did remind him of Tenya, so he had to give those to Mashirao. But what did he mean her eating habits? Midoriya didn't remember seeing anything out of the ordinary about what or how Momo had eaten at lunch. Wait, speaking of Tenya...

All Might: Hey, Ida-san is quite wealthy, why don't you have any beef with him.

As Midoriya typed this he was reminded of Ojiro's brief reaction to Ida revealing his background to the tailed teen a while back. Maybe there was something to it?

Lion: Okay you have a point. I was a bit shocked when he told me about his family, but Ida-san has never flaunted his upcoming. He's the exception, not the rule.

All Might: And what's to say Yaoyorozu-san isn't an exception as well?

Lion: Look I just have a feeling. I've been burnt too many times by rich kids like her in the past to give them the benefit of the doubt.

All Might: Mind telling me what they have done to you?

Lion: Maybe someday.

Lion: Look I'll consider what you've said, and I'll have an answer to this whole mess tomorrow. I promise.

All Might: I don't want you to go if it makes you that uncomfortable. I'm just trying to understand.

Lion: And I appreciate that.

Lion: Sorry if I have seemed angry at you. It's not you; it's those type of people I'm mad at.

Lion: I'll see you tomorrow.

All Might: Bye.

Izuku continued to lay on his bed as he processed what Mashirao had revealed to him. What could have triggered all these negative emotions? Had he been bullied by them in his previous schools? Wait, he mentioned that his family wasn't that well off in terms of money, how did he mingle with so many rich kids if that was the case? Usually, such kids go to private schools, or just live all in the same district to avoid poorer neighborhoods. But then there was the fact that Ojiro's parents seemed to have well-paying jobs, yet still, money was tight. Was there a connection? Midoriya continued to ponder the subject for the rest of the day.

Wednesday's lunch started with a surprise for Izuku and his friends. Mashirao was quick to state his desire to go to Momo's house to study. The tailed teen had said he needed to be sure he could reschedule his lesson with his Muay Thai instructor to Sunday before he could commit to going. While Midoriya knew that while what he said was technically correct, it still wasn't the real reason. But he was happy regardless that Ojiro was willing to try and look past his prejudice.

Tooru was still undecided and wouldn't say why to anyone. This was starting to concern Izuku; he wanted her to come more than anyone else. But unlike Mashiro, he felt he couldn't be as abrupt in approaching her about it. Midoriya hoped she would decide before her visit on Thursday; otherwise, he felt he would have to confront her then about it, something he would rather avoid if necessary.

Momo gave everyone the address to her house and said for them to come at nine in the morning. She stated it would be best if they used all the time they could, by staying until the late afternoon as well as the next three weekends if possible. All those that had agreed to come Saturday voiced that they were okay with both these ideas. The vice president continued by saying that each week they would focus on individual subjects, with the final week being just a massive review.

After this, Tooru excitingly mentioned that next Sunday, June 16th, would be her sixteenth birthday. Ochkao was quick to ask if she wanted the group to celebrate it with her and the invisible heroine said she would think about it. Mashirao then spoke up and said his birthday was actually last Tuesday, on May 28th. Tenya inquired why he hadn't mentioned it, and the tailed teen simply stated that he didn't want to bother anybody about it. Though he said he would consider celebrating his next birthday with his friends. Hagakure then asked when everyone else's birthday was and they answered; July 15th for Izuku, August 22nd for Tenya, September 23rd for Momo, and finally December 27th for Ochako. Before Midoriya could ask Tooru more about her birthday, the bell rang for lunch to be done.

* * *

Once classes were over for the day Midoriya approached Ojiro's desk before he could get up and asked, "Hey mind staying behind for a few minutes?"

Mashirao just shrugged and said, "I'm in no hurry. So sure."

The classroom started to empty, but Tooru soon appeared between the two and asked with curiosity, "What's going on over here?"

A bit startled Izuku said, "J-Just having a c-chat with Ojiro-san."

Bringing her arms together, Hagakure asked, "Mind if I join?"

Mashirao responded to her question with, "Sorry but it's a bit private."

The invisible teen groaned, "Ugh, fine." However, she then teased, "Midoriya-kun will just have to tell me all about it tomorrow after school then. See you later, boys."

The tailed teen crossed his hands together and rested his chin on them as he said, "Going on another date are we?"

Izuku brought a hand to his face and gave a soft groan. He then muttered, "It's not a d-date. N-Not exactly."

Raising an eyebrow, Ojiro inquired, "And that means?"

Midoriya felt that if he was going to get the questions he wanted to be answered by his friend, he might as well be open with him. He responded slowly with, "She's j-just coming over to my house, a-again."

Perplexed, Mashirao asked, "Hagakure-san has been to your place already? Since when?"

"I invited H-Hagakure-chan right after the Hero Festival," Midoriya said in a meek tone.

"Huh, didn't know you had it in you. Nice," Ojiro said with a thumbs up.

Izuku crossed his arms and explained, "She was really u-upset and s-scared for me that day. I d-did it to h-help cheer her up."

In a respectful tone, the tailed teen said, "That was a considerate thing to do."

Midoriya muttered, "Y-Yeah."

Sighing, Mashirao said, "Well, I have had my fill of teasing you. What did you wanna ask me?"

Izuku requested, "I wanted to ask, what finally made you decide to accept Yaoyorozu-san's invitation?"

The tailed teen put a hand to his chin and waited a few moments before replying, "In the end, I decided it was better for us to stick together than for me to be stubborn. Plus if it turns out to be a waste, then me being there will make it that much sweeter when I say that I told you so."

Izuku internally groaned at this remark. He thought, why does it matter to be proven right on something like this?

With a hand on his chin, Mashirao then stated, "Hagakure-san is still up in the air about going or not. Any idea why she is so hesitant?"

Midoriya shrugged and said, "No clue."

The tailed teen gave a small grunt and asked, "Maybe you should ask her when she's at your house tomorrow."

"I've c-considered that," Izuku responded.

Ojiro then inquired, "Anything else you wanted to ask?"

Searching his thoughts, Midoriya eventually asked, "Just one. Why did you make your icon a lion in the group chat?"

Startled, Mashirao asked, "Really? You don't remember?"

Midoriya then asked, "Remember what?"

Ojiro responded with, "It occurred when we had our first short lunch together."

Izuku tried to think back to anything specific that day relating to now but drew a blank. He then shook his head.

Mashirao held up a hand and stated, "It's fine it was a while back now that I think about it. When you pointed out my quirk that day, you described that my tail reminded you of a lion."

The memory came flooding back to Izuku's mind, and he said, "Oh yeah, now I remember. But still, I don't see why that would be so important to you."

"You would be surprised how many people have compared my tail to that of a monkey. It's almost always been as a way to tease or belittle me," Ojiro said, looking quite upset.

Mashirao's statement reminded Izuku of what had happened at the Hero Festival. It was probably just to rile him up to speak so he could activate his quirk, but Hitoshi calling Ojiro a monkey did make Midoriya quite angry. Knowing this now, he felt that his tailed friend probably took great offense to what Shinso said.

Mashirao then stated in a proud voice, "The way you described it, like a lion, felt right to me. To me, a lion symbolizes strength and bravery, like that of a hero. And I appreciated that, a lot."

Izuku had no idea his friend felt so strongly over what he thought was just a small compliment. A bit flustered the boy said, "Oh I see. I'm sorry I forgot."

Getting up Ojiro again said, "It's fine. No need to beat yourself up on the small things. Anyways, we should probably start heading home."

* * *

Midoriya spent the evening going over his plans for tomorrow. His surprise had been cooked and was now chilling in the fridge. Izuku also informed his mom of what to do once the two arrived at the house concerning the surprise. He had a change of clothes ready and waiting to prevent the chance of smelling bad, again. The green haired teen also went over potential topics he wanted to ask Tooru over and over in his head. But more importantly, he kept telling himself it would be alright. Tooru had been at his house before, so there was nothing to panic about, Izuku thought. Just focus on making sure she was having a good time. And if everything went well, maybe something interesting would come out of all of it, he hoped.

* * *

 **Kind of a big change happened in this chapter from the main story. I felt Tenya would still be conflicted after all that had happened with Stain and decided to extend his troubles past just being hospitalized. I also felt this would be the best place to use Momo before having her join the group.**

 **Some of you might be wondering, why Momo? To tell you the truth there had been three other choices I was considering. Fumikage's quirk felt like it would fun to write about and he's not exactly a popular character written about in most stories, something that's a big draw for me. Koda is even less written about, hell he doesn't even have a character filter option, but man would it be difficult to portray him since he's almost always silent. I eventually decided on another girl character would be useful to even out the genders on both sides. At first, I went with Kyoka, but as mentioned in chapter two's author notes, I had difficulty thinking up ways to use her quirk. Choosing Momo was mostly because I wanted to push a future plot point for Mashirao, and she was the best fit out of the female cast for this. I could also use Koda sparingly with this plot point, so I just went with it. But a big plus is that her quirk is limitless in ideas, so I hope I can think up some neat scenarios using it (even though that's pretty far from now).**

 **Having two weeks to write this was a nice change of pace versus one chapter per week like before. So, for now, I'm going to stick to one chapter per two weeks unless I start struggling again. I also wanted to point out with this extra time; I decided to do a massive grammar/corrections update to chapter 1-6. I've been putting it off for some time and just decided to do a chapter a day last week, Monday - Saturday. All the chapters also got a few new lines to explain better some things or just new content(chapter 6 got the most of the new stuff). From now on I plan to give a longer period to edit the story after I'm done writing before I publish. I hate discovering errors after posting. Mainly because no matter how many times I re-read a chapter of mine I always find something, which makes me think, how did I miss this last time? Please point them out via private messages if you wish, I'd greatly appreciate it. Another thing I wanna say is that chapter releases will now be on Mondays. Usually, I release chapters early on Sunday, and I could actually use that extra day to make the final edits to a chapter before I release it (I get the most writing done on the weekends anyhow).**

 **So if you didn't know a large category four hurricane hit Texas last weekend and into this week. I live in East Texas, just northwest of Houston, and experienced a lot of it. I'm safe (live on a hill surrounded by a thousand acres of forest) and all the rain gave me a lot of extra time to do the chapter edits and to write this chapter since a lot of schools canceled their trips to my job for this week. The rain started Friday afternoon and didn't stop till Tuesday evening, got over 25 inches of rain (which is nothing compared to Houston or Beaumont which got over 50 inches in some places). This wasn't my first massive storm I've experienced (been through Allison(2001), Rita(2005), and Ike(2008)), but probably the most rain I've ever seen since Allison.**

 **I decided to make this month gap before the exams to be around six chapters, each chapter covering a few days or a week at a time. When looking ahead, there's a lot of manga content I'll have to skip because there won't be that many changes in the forest battle (minus it's before and after) and the whole kidnapping/rescue of Bakugo. I was tempted to drastically modify the rescue part but felt that it was too soon to pursue a future plot point I want to go for and it would be better to wait till they moved into the dorms. Once they are in the dorms, I feel I will have a lot more breathing room to write. So I want to maximize how much I can write before the significant jump, hence the decision for ~six chapters over my previous aim for two/three.**

 **One thing I noticed last Monday when just flipping through tags for this series to find any new stories I might be interested in, I found a curious fact I want to share. I have the only fic that tags Ojiro that isn't a Mashirao x Tooru one shot (ok there's one that is three chapters, but it's barely 1k words). I just found that surprising as I didn't think him to be THAT unpopular to write about on this site, but hey, you learn new things every day. Hopefully, I inspire more stories about him! Speaking of which, we got to see a lot of Ojiro this chapter. I've got some plans for him and wanted this chapter to set the foundation for a few big scenes I plan to happen in a couple of chapters. I hope you all will enjoy it when it comes.**

 **One neat thing I have gotten from writing this fic is while I reread the manga for reference is the things I missed in previous readings. For example, when I was re-reading the middle of volume seven when Eraserhead was done explaining the summer camp training, and the class got excited, I noticed two things I don't remember seeing before. First was Tenya being hyped at the chance to eat curry, yes curry. The whole curry scene in chapter four was done because of my own experience with this type of food (and because it felt more sophisticated than going the easy route and doing something simple like burgers, ramen, etc.), so I was astonished to read that I had unknowingly kept him in character. The second was simply not seeing that Jiro gave the middle finger to Kaminari (probably said something perverted like Mineta was). It's hilarious, how did I miss that before?**


	8. Another Step Forward

Chapter 8: Another Step Forward

It was Thursday afternoon and Izuku was currently taking notes from Cementoss's literature class. It was the last class for the day and it was almost over. Soon he and Tooru would leave for his home. Midoriya was still a bit nervous. Not about his friend coming over, but of her defiance to make a decision for Saturday. Izuku was hoping she would have made up her mind by now but no dice. Now he felt obligated to ask Hagakure what the hold up was. Sure Midoriya wanted to convince her to come but the reason why seemed more important to him at the moment.

The bell then rang. Izuku hadn't the time to put away his notebook before Tooru was standing beside him. With a voice of excitement, she said, "You ready?"

The green haired teen pleaded, "Just give me a second, would you?"

A grunt came from in front of them, grabbing their attention. They both looked to see Bakugo get up to leave and say with malice, "So annoying."

Midoriya sighed as he got up.

Hagakure huffed, "What's his problem? We literally only said two sentences to each other."

Izuku figured Katsuki was becoming further irked by his interactions with Tooru. The hot-headed hero did sit in between them in class, and even he could notice the change between the two. Midoriya wasn't in the mood to argue about it and just wanted to focus on his friend's visit. He put a hand to his forehead to rub his temple and said, "Just let it go Hagakure-chan."

Tooru could only groan in response as she and Izuku made their leave. Once the pair had exited the school, the invisible heroine spoke up and said, "So got a plan for my visit today?"

Midoriya scratched his cheek as he said, "Not really. Thinking back to last time, I liked just chatting in my room. If that's okay with you of course."

"Whatever you find comfortable is okay with me. But, I got another surprise for you once we get there," Hagakure teased.

Shuddering, the boy asked, "Is it a-appropriate?"

"Totally. It's fine, just like last time was," Tooru explained.

Last time involved you wearing a cheerleader's outfit and exposing that you lack panties while wearing skirts, Izuku wanted to say but instead thought. "If you say so," he sighed.

With sass in her voice, the invisible girl asked, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It was e-embarrassing for m-me," Midoriya whined.

Hagakure rebutted, "Despite not being able to see anything revealing?"

"Again it's the c-concept that makes me u-uncomfortable," Izuku tried to argue.

Tooru let out a groan as she said, "You're impossible sometimes."

The boy hung his head while saying, "Sorry. I'm still not used to people being so open about things, e-especially a g-girl."

One of Tooru's sleeves came to where her chin would be as she said, "Well, you're slowly getting better at it, so that I will give you that."

Now curious, Midoriya asked, "I-I am?"

Bluntly, Hagakure spoke, "Duh. You were a stuttering mess the first day we sat down and had lunch together."

He was, wasn't he, Izuku thought. This got a chuckle out of Izuku, which then Tooru also joined in the laugh as well.

The rest of the journey to Midoriya's apartment had him and Hagakure further discussing what happened at lunch that day. The topic at cafeteria focused on what everyone did during their week of the internship. Izuku briefly described how he came up with Full Cowl and the quirky nature of his supervisor, Gran Torino. Ochako talked about her combat training under Gunhead: The Battle Hero, which Mashirao was very interested in discussing with her about. Tenya was quite brief in his explanation, which everyone else understood why. He described helping stop a few hoodlums during his patrols with his water manipulating supervisor, Manual: The Normal Hero. Momo explained how she was initially inspired by being chosen by Uwabami: The Snake Heroine but felt she was just chosen because of her good looks to be used in the pro hero's hair product commercial. This got a laugh out of Ojiro, which the creation heroine didn't seem to appreciate. Tooru spoke of having a fun time with Ms. Joke: The Smile Hero. She described having learned some tidbits about Eraserhead from her supervisor, but wouldn't divulge into it for "reasons". Mashirao explained his time with Vlad King: The Blood Hero as being worthwhile as they captured over a dozen villains doing small-time crimes throughout the week. Ida was quick to ask why the tailed teen had wanted to intern under the class 1-B's homeroom teacher, which was news to everyone else but Yaoyorozu. Ojiro answered that he had randomly chosen him as all the pro heroes he initial wanted were already picked by someone else. This got Izuku to wonder if their own homeroom teacher had to be a supervisor last week, and to who if so.

As the pair made their way closer to their destination, Tooru had asked for more details about Full Cowl and his training to master it. Midoriya was happy to explain, but as he finished, he also asked if she would reveal more about her internship. Hagakure characterized her pro hero supervisor as similar to herself; as positive and cheerful. She described her quirk of forced laughter as odd but effective from what she could observe. Tooru mostly spent her time with the pro hero on patrol, and during them would ask questions about the lifestyle of a hero once they graduated. "None of my immediate family has ever gone pro. So I have never been able to ask what it's like once I get there. It was informative for me, and I am glad I chose her," she said with glee.

Izuku then asked, "Hey you mentioned learning some things about Aizawa-sensei while you were with her. Anything of note?"

Hagakure paused a moment but then explained, "Just a few things. Apparently, they used to have office's close by; she's also a teacher at a different hero academy. That's how they met and they engaged in small talk when they could. Eventually, they became acquainted enough to even team up against villains here and there. Fukukado-sensei seems fond of him, but it's sometimes hard to tell if she's being serious or not. Either way, it's the reason why I didn't want to talk more about it in front of everyone else."

From what Midoriya could tell, Ms. Joke seemed as the polar opposite of their homeroom teacher. But sometimes opposites do attract, he noted. It reminded Izuku of his own bond with his invisible friend. Despite his nervous demeanor and her bubbly personality, they got along just fine. The green haired teen wondered, could their differing personalities work out if they were a couple? He shook the idea out of his head as the two began to climb the stairs towards his apartment. Trying to ignore what he previously thought, Izuku began mentally going over his plan as he climbed the steps. He was still sticking to the "good first impression" idea and then just spending time in his room like last time. Though Tooru's own surprise was throwing the boy for a loop. Midoriya hoped it wasn't another questionable attire reveal.

As they entered Izuku was startled by his mother as she gave both a hug. Tooru found the embrace as hilarious because of his embarrassment to being sandwiched between his invisible friend and parent. After an exchange of greetings, and this time his friend accepting Inko's offer of tea, the pair made their way to the younger Midoriya's room.

Once inside, Hagakure immediately dropped her backpack beside the door and then sat in her host's computer chair. She then began to drink the tea while humming. Midoriya walked past her and placed his backpack at the foot of his bed before grabbing some clothes. He then turned around and asked, "Hey Tooru, do you mind if I go change? I'm a bit hot from all this warm weather we're having."

The invisible girl responded, "Afraid you'll scare me away with your smell like last time? Isn't this a bit much?"

"I-I just want to be s-sure, is all," the boy tried to explain.

"Ah well, go ahead, but you know," Hagakure then switched her tone to a more suggestive one and said, "You could always just change in here, and I can just turn around." After stating this, she did a complete spin with the computer chair.

Turning beet red, Izuku struggled to say, "Y-You know w-wouldn't be ok with t-that."

Tooru just shrugged and said, "Just offering."

The boy muttered, "S-Sorry, I g-going to have p-pass on that i-idea."

In a voice of defeat, Hagakure replied with, "Oh poo. Well, don't take too long as I still have a surprise to show you, remember?"

Izuku passed his friend and turned before opening the door. "Yeah, you don't have to remind me." After closing the door, he approached the kitchen. As the younger Midoriya stepped in and said in a hushed tone, "Mom do you have them in the toaster oven?"

Inko asked, "Why are you whispering?"

Izuku realized how silly it was to be whispering at the moment. He then responded, "L-Look it d-doesn't matter. Are you heating them up like I asked?"

His mother was quick to answer with, "Of course. I grabbed three as you said I should and they should be ready in a minute."

Satisfied, the green haired teen said, "Okay, I'll grab them after I change." He changed into a simple black t-shirt with light brown khakis. After exiting the bathroom, he put on some oven mittens before grabbing a small tray from the toaster oven but was stopped by his mother before reaching his door.

Inko said softly, "Good luck."

"Thanks, for everything mom," Izuku said with a big smile. As he walked in he stated, "Tooru I wanted to surprise-". Midoriya stopped talking once he noticed that there was no sign of Tooru within his room. And then became wide-eyed when he saw the pile of folded clothes on his bed. So this was her surprise, Izuku thought in a panic. He was quick to close the door behind him, and as he turned around, he noticed one of his pastries floating in the air.

Midoriya heard a few sniffs and then the eager voice of Hagakure asked, "Is this what I think this is?"

Ignoring her comment, the boy muttered, "W-Why are you n-naked, in m-my room of all p-places?"

Tooru was quick to retort, "Hey answer my question first. What is this tasty looking morsel?"

Internally Izuku groaned, but he responded with, "They're salted c-caramel glazed donuts made from p-pumpkin spice."

Hagakure slowly stated, "Sounds delicious."

Midoriya then watched the pastry slowly disappear as his invisible friend ate it. He then walked over to his computer table and placed the tray, now with two donuts, down. Not turning around Midoriya asked, "Can you p-please tell me why your n-nude? Y-You said it would a-appropriate on our way h-here."

Trying to explain, Hagakure said, "That's the thing though, I don't have to be nude anymore to stay invisible!"

Taken aback, the boy asked, "Wait, you mean your hero costume came in?"

Enthusiastically the invisible heroine "Yeah! All Might-sensei pulled me aside after class and gave it to me himself on Monday. I was so surprised. I figured I wouldn't get this until the end of the year!"

So this is the gift All Might was talking about on Tuesday, Midoriya thought. He should have been able to take the hint. The number one hero had mentioned trying to up the production of Tooru's hero suit not long after the villain invasion, which was some time ago.

Izuku then felt hands grasp his own as Tooru spoke, "Here, let me show you." She was too quick for her alarmed friend to react. Hagakure pulled him forward and placed his palms on to her body. Midoriya was glad whatever he was touching was not skin, but instead some sort of fabric. His hands were almost parallel to his hips. Izuku knew, from the hugs he had received from Tooru in the past, that she was a couple centimeters shorter than him. So he guessed he was currently holding the sides of her lower chest. Though this fact still didn't prevent the boy from becoming a decent shade of crimson.

Hagakure then stated with excitement, "See? Clothing, no nudity here!"

Continuing the stutter in his speech the boy asked, "Y-Yeah, that's g-great. D-Definitely an i-improvement."

With curiosity, Tooru inquired, "Do you want to see what it looks like?"

Somewhat excited, Izuku asked, "Wait, that suit lets you control your transparency quirk?" The possibility had him greatly intrigued.

"I wish. Once I take it off it becomes visible after a few seconds, and vice-versa when I put it on," explained Hagakure in a disappointed tone.

Midoriya internally sighed at hearing this. The concept of him being to see what his best friend actually looked like did seem too good to be true. Tooru would have shown him much sooner if that was the case. The green haired teen realized that she would need to undress for him to see the suit but his curiosity was greater than his nervousness. "S-Sure I guess," he said.

"Ok then. You know the drill when I change. Get to it," the invisible expressed in a serious tone but then chuckled as she couldn't maintain it.

Izuku walked over to his bed and sat down. After turning around, he began to hear his friend fidget around while taking off her suit. This was the third time he had to do this, but Midoriya wasn't any more comfortable about it at this point. Mental images of her changing kept creeping into his mind, but he would continually smash such thoughts from his head. The boy didn't want to see his friend in that way; they didn't have that type of relationship.

Suddenly something was thrown at Izuku's side. Before he could say anything, Tooru said, "Here you can look at it while I change back into my uniform."

Midoriya then saw the pile of Hagakure's clothes by his side be lifted off and taken behind him. The boy saw the suit gradually appear and slowly grabbed it. The costume looked like a one-piece wetsuit, though as he felt the material, it felt slightly thicker than a regular wetsuit. It was a bluish green color, cyan maybe? There was also black stripes around the neckline, wrists, waist, and ankles. The material was quite tough on the outside, but it felt very soft on the inside once Izuku put a hand into the neck hole to inspect it. The boy immediately also noticed that it was also very warm, from her body heat. This last thought made Midoriya drop the suit to the side, not wanting to further divulge in such thoughts.

A voice behind him, somewhat muffled, said, "You can turn around now. So what do you think of it?"

Izuku turned to see Tooru in her school uniform again but with another partially eaten donut floating where her mouth would be, which explained the difference in her voice. Cupping his chin with one of his hands, Izuku began with, "So from what I can tell, it's more than just able to work with your quirk, but it has a few other components. The outside is quite resilient, which means it provides some protection. The inside though felt comfy and flexible, which is not only for comfort but gives you a lot of freedom of movement."

The invisible lass replied, "Well my quirk works best in stealth situations so I would hope it gives me a lot of movement options."

Midoriya continued, "Exactly, I don't know if you've noticed Tooru, but you are quite fast and nimble. Those traits of yours won't be lost in this suit. And while you will probably be located outside the battlefield in most scenarios, it would still be beneficial to have at least some form of protection. Which again this costume provides."

"Heh, you're so intelligent Izuku," Hagakure proudly said.

"T-Thanks," Izuku said while scratching the back of his head.

Tooru then stated, "The suit isn't complete though."

Confused, the green haired teen asked, "It's not? Is there something wrong with it?"

Hagakure responded, "Nah, it's perfect. It's just missing shoes. All Might-sensei said they weren't able to get the right specifications for the footwear I requested. So that's coming later. So for now, I'm still gonna continue to be barefoot if I want to go completely invisible."

Izuku wondered what specifications these were. He recalled that because of her having to be barefoot, it led to her being exposed during the rescue training from their second day of school as she described to him. The ice from Tokodori's quirk had made her slip. A regular pair of shoes might have prevented that so what more could footwear provide than protection from the elements? He wanted to ponder the thought more before asking about it, so Midoriya simply answered back, "Oh, I see."

The invisible heroine then said, "I also called the support company to make a special request on Monday after school."

Halting his thoughts on the possibilities of the invisible shoes, Izuku asked, "Which was?"

Hagakure explained, "I asked if they could make me some invisible underwear as well. They were a bit taken aback about it but once I explained the situation they were more than happy to look into it. Though because of it not being related to my hero costume, they said it would be a while before they could develop it."

"O-Oh well that sounds g-great," Midoriya responded. He was actually glad for his friend, as the idea of her not being able to wear panties when wearing certain clothing seemed like a burden to her.

"Yeah, I hope both items get developed soon. By the way, since we are on the subject of hero costumes, don't think I've noticed the changes in your's Izuku," Tooru pointed out.

Scratching the back of his head Midoriya said, "Oh you noticed?"

During his internship, he had gotten back his suit from being repaired. Izuku called it costume beta, and it had a lot of changes to it. It now was a darker green and its striping was now black instead of white. The elbow and knee pads were extended and it came with a more sturdy pair of gloves plus boots. His mask now had a more high tech face guard and the "ears" were shortened. Midoriya wasn't able to show it off to his classmates until Monday's rescue race with All Might. Curious about what Hagakure thought of it, he asked, "Did you like it?"

"It looked more official than your last one for sure. Your last costume looked like you just were cosplaying," Tooru stated bluntly.

She wasn't exactly wrong, Izuku thought, most parts of costume alpha were assembled or bought by himself, and the unitard was made by his mom. It was all he was able to come within the month he had between being accepted to U.A. and starting school there.

"No offense taken Tooru, my first suit was pretty low quality for hero work. I mean it got thrashed after just one training exercise. I'm glad about all the changes that were made in my new outfit," Midoriya replied.

Hagakure then stated, "Well there was one thing I don't like about your new costume." Curious but also clueless at what the flaw could be Izuku gave a perplex look at her. Tooru rose her sleeves above her head as she explained. "It's the bunny ears in your mask, their less cute when that short. I understand they're more practical, but your costume is less iconic now."

Izuku was still somewhat surprised his friend hadn't noticed that they were referencing All Might's hair, not of a rabbit. He almost wanted to bring it up to her but just decided to respond instead while pointing at his head, "You know me, logic over style."

Tooru went silent for a few moments before approaching Midoriya, which confused him. He thought, was he not supposed to say that? The boy then felt a palm on his right hand. In a somber voice, the invisible heroine asked, "Can I see it?"

The green haired teen instantly knew what she was referring to. He opened his right fist, exposing it's slightly misshapen look and two scars.

Wistfully, Hagakure inquired, "This happened during your match with Tokodori-san, right?" Izuku could only nod slowly. He was prepared for another discussion on not making stupid decisions from his friend, but what came next surprised him. The girl sighed and said, "I guess it can't be helped at this point."

Izuku thought, that's it? He was expecting more from this, but to see her drop the subject so quickly made Midoriya sigh in relief at that dodged bullet.

Tooru then stated, "Hey I feel like I should apologize for something from last week."

Curious, Midoriya asked, "About what?"

In a soft voice she asked, "You know when you confronted the Hero Killer, you sent out your location from your phone?"

Izuku nodded in response to her question.

Taking a deep breath, Hagakure then stated, "I just want to say sorry for not realizing you needed help when you send out that message marking your location to everyone, I just thought you butt dialed me or something."

Trying to cheer her up the Izuku replied, "It's ok Tooru, Uraraka-san also apologized for it thinking the same thing. I really didn't give you all much to go by. Only Todoroki-san figured it out anyhow, and he thankfully happened to be nearby."

Now curious herself, Tooru said, "Hey, when did you ever get Todoroki-san's number?"

Midoriya explained, "He gave it to me the Tuesday we went back to school after the hero festival. He said if I ever needed his help, to call. I guess it was one way he wanted to thank me for everything that happened during our battle."

In a bit more cheerful tone, the invisible girl said, "Well I'm glad he was there to help."

Shivering at the thought of what might have happened if Shoto hadn't shown up, Izuku then said, "Y-Yeah, me too."

With a puzzled tone in her voice, Hagakure stated, "You two seem to be good pals now. Is there a reason you never tried to invite him to our lunch table?"

Midoriya asked for a minute while he thought of an answer. Eventually, he spoke up and explained, "Todoroki-san has been getting better interacting with our classmates since the Hero Festival, but I think inviting him would have been a sensory overload for him. He still has a lot of baggage to figure out on his own and I don't want to further stress him by making him uncomfortable. Plus Todoroki-san seems to be loner type anyways when it comes to anything outside our hero work, like Tokoyami-san, despite both working well with others during our training."

"Huh, I never considered it like that," the invisible girl said with surprise. She then continued with, "That's quite nice of you to still consider his well-being after everything that happened."

"Thanks," was all Midoriya could think to say. His face was a bit pink from the praise that his friend had given.

Tooru then said, "Hey before we continue chatting I wanna go thank your mom for these amazing donuts." She quickly stood up and grabbed the last donut as she made her way towards the door.

Izuku raised his voice to stop her and stated, "Wait, my mom didn't make those."

Hagakure stopped and turned around before asking, "Oh, so you bought them?"

Shaking his head Midoriya said proudly, "No, I made them."

Astonished, the invisible gal asked, "Wait you can cook?"

Scratching his cheek with a bit of a blush, Midoriya said, "Well, kind of. My mom has taught me a decent amount of cooking in general. I had her help me look up a recipe involving caramel but the rest was just me. I did a trial run first, and then I made another batch this morning. I've got like two dozen more chilling in the fridge if you wanna take them home."

"Oh, you're the best Izuku," an overjoyed Tooru proclaimed.

Hagakure dropped the donut on the desk and then brought him into an embrace. However, since Izuku was sitting down and she had quickly sprinted to him in a standing position to hug him, it toppled the green haired teen over. Now he had his back on the bed with Tooru squeezing him tightly, and he was yet again panicking. In their last two embraces, Midoriya had felt her breasts against his chest; it was slight though so he could handle it somewhat. But with the invisible girl on top of him, he could feel the full weight of them against himself, and his mind was frying because of it. Also, for the first time, Izuku did not return in the embrace, and instead fidgeted in discomfort.

With concern in her voice, Hagakure asked, "Hey, you okay Izuku?

"C-can't b-breathe," Midoriya lied.

Tooru was quick to roll off the boy and lay by his left side as Izuku started to breathe heavily. They both were laid out on the bed now, their legs over the side, as they were laying along the short side of the bed.

Apologizing, the invisible stated, "Sorry, I guess I should not have pounced on you."

In a light chuckle, Midoriya muttered, "Y-Yeah, I w-wasn't expecting t-that."

Tooru stayed quiet as she laid beside Izuku as his breathing slowly went back to normal. During this, he went over in his head the things he wanted to discuss with his friend while she was here. It was time to tackle the big question; he just hoped she would be responsive. In a sincere voice, Midoriya inquired, "Hey Tooru, why are you being so hesitant about going to Yaoyorozu-san's study session with me and everyone else this Saturday?"

Crossing her arms, Hagakure said, "Oh, right, I still haven't made up my mind about that, have I?" The boy shook his head. Izuku then saw Tooru unfold her arms and felt her grab his left hand. She gave a decent squeeze before she said, "I just don't feel comfortable about it."

The green haired teen responded with, "How so?"

"Cause I feel everyone else in our group is a lot smarter than me," the girl stated in a dejected tone.

Midoriya then asked, "What makes you say that?"

After a long exhale, Hagakure stated, "I haven't told anyone else this, but my grades are below average."

Waving his right hand to dismiss the statement, "I'm sure it's not that bad."

In a serious voice, Tooru spoke, "Izuku, I think the only people with worse grades than me are Ashido-san and Kaminari-san."

The boy hadn't actually considered Mina to have terrible grades. Sure she acted ditzy sometimes, but he just thought that was just a part of her personality. Then again, Izuku hadn't interacted with her that much compared to Tooru. Though he had to give it to Hagakure, it was pretty obvious Kaminari lacked a lot of in the intelligence department, even more so if he overused his quirk.

Trying to convince his friend to go, Midoriya proclaimed, "Well, that just means it's more of a reason for you to go on Saturday."

"I know, but it will be embarrassing," Hagakure said while bringing her left arm to her face.

This statement surprised the green haired teen. Being naked, albeit invisible, never really bothered his friend. But of all things, her scores in academics? Embarrassing?

"No one's gonna make fun of you, I promise," Izuku said as he tightened his grip on Tooru's hand.

The invisible girl sighed and replied, "I know, but I just hate the feeling of being inferior in smarts. I can take being weaker, that's just the nature of my quirk."

Midoriya asked in an inquisitive voice, "Is this why you never want to discuss schoolwork that doesn't involve hero training at lunch?"

Softly Tooru explained, "Yeah. And besides, I don't want you guys to spend the extra time to help me when you could be helping yourselves. I'll just be in the way."

Izuku thoughtfully stated, "I would rather lose a few points in my grade than see you not come to the training camp. And I'm sure everyone else would do the same."

Intrigued, Hagakure asked, "You want me to go to the summer trip that bad?"

With a jolt, Izuku proclaimed, "Well of course! I mean otherwise you'll be miserable staying behind doing summer school, and I want to spend time with you this summer," Midoriya was quick to say.

"You know, it's not like we can't see each other over the break if I fail the exams," the invisible girl explained.

Midoriya rebutting by saying, "Yeah, but I feel like we can experience some new things together with our group if we go to this camp."

Tooru inquired, "You think so?"

"I know so. I mean imagine a hero training summer outside school grounds. We'll also be together with every for an entire week, instead of a half the day at a time. The thought itself is pretty exciting to me," Izuku stated. Then, a bit desperate, the boy asked, "So will you please consider going?"

Tooru stayed silent for a few minutes as she considered the question. The wait was almost too much for Midoriya as they both laid there on his bed. Eventually, Hagakure said, "Well at this point, with after everything you said; it would be pretty dumb of me to say still no. So alright I'll say yes at lunch tomorrow."

Excitedly, Izuku stood up and raised their held hands and said, "Thanks, for finally saying yes."

While returning to a sitting position, which also brought Izuku into one as well, Tooru said, "Well, you are such a good sweet talker." Midoriya gave an awkward chuckle in response, which also got Hagakure to giggle. After the laughing session, the invisible heroine then let go of the boy's hand and leaned forward a bit before asking, "Hey I want to ask you something. Do you remember the incident in the locker rooms after our rescue race training with All Might-sensei?"

Izuku nodded sheepishly as he recalled Minoru finding a peephole between the locker rooms. However, Kyoka was quick to stop the short boy with her quirk.

In a serious tone, Hagakure asked, "Was that perverted purple blob the only one that tried to look at us while we changed out of our hero suits and into our school uniforms?"

Confused, Midoriya answered with, "Yeah, why?"

With a sigh, Tooru responded with, "Just curious. I think the girls would like to know if there were any other boys that had such tendencies is all."

Izuku thought a bit about this last statement from Tooru. He could only think of one of his male classmates that displayed such behavior at all. "Well, I've sometimes seen Kaminari-san with Mineta-san during the latter's shenanigans," Midoriya stated.

"Oh, I know that. Jiro-san makes sure to keep him in line," she said with a hint of pleasantness.

Izuku recalled the multiple occasions that Kyoka had physically stopped Denki from doing stupid things. He was glad his friend wasn't like that with himself.

Hagakure put a hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "I'm so fortunate that you didn't turn out to be a pervert Izuku."

Another awkward laugh came from the Midoriya. While that was true in his actions, there were many times that his mind would bring up naughty thoughts that he wished would go away. He was a growing teenage boy, and it was a natural reaction from spending so much time with a female, even if she was invisible. But to Izuku it wasn't the proper way to see his friend. He wanted to respect the status of their relationship, and such thoughts broke that trust he felt that the two had built.

Trying to change the subject, Midoriya asked, "Hey, you said that you couldn't come yesterday because you had an appointment with your trainer. What's your training like?"

Tooru explained, "Oh, it's nothing special. She just helps me keep myself in shape. You know running, light weight lifting, acrobatics, stretches, the works."

Surprised, the boy asked, "That's it?"

Raising an arm, Hagakure said, "Well, she also helps me with my sneaking skills."

Raising an eyebrow, Izuku inquired, "Sneaking?"

"Yeah. My instructor used to be a scout in some army outside of Japan; she developed some efficient stealth skills while doing multiple reconnaissance missions while in service," Tooru responded.

Midoriya crossed his arms and asked with curiosity, "Could you tell me about what she has taught you?"

Hagakure sighed and stated, "Sure. But I'm only telling you because I know you like this kind of jibber jabber."

This got a smile out of the green haired teen. "You know it," he said proudly.

"Well, my mentor divides stealth into three categories: attire, path, and technique," the girl began.

Izuku then asked, "Actually could you give me a second?" He rapidly got up and grabbed a notebook and pencil then sat his desk before saying, "Okay, you can continue."

Tooru gave a grunt at this but continued, "Attire didn't apply to me until I got my hero suit. But thanks to her guidance I was able to know what I would require for my costume. Tight clothing is a must, anything loose could make noise as you move. Of course, bracelets, necklaces, and rings are a big no-no as well. Path is about choosing where you walk. When outside; loose soils, gravel, mud, and wet grass should be avoided. While inside it's best to walk near walls, as it's less likely for the floor to squeak or creak. If it's a place you know, I was always told it was good to memorize it, but be open to changes in the environment, so you don't get caught off guard if something has been moved."

Hagakure gave Izuku some time to write before resuming. Midoriya then spoke up, "This is fantastic stuff Tooru!"

Cheerfully Tooru stated, "I hoped it would be for you. But anyways, the last part is technique, that took me the longest to learn. You gotta land first with the balls of your feet whenever you walk, run, or jump. This will help silence your feet movement. Being barefoot makes this easier, and when my special shoes finally come it will be even better. Supporting your weight on things like furniture can also make you produce less noise as you move around."

Izuku realized the footwear's purpose now. To make her movement even more silent than if she was walking barefoot. Just off the top of his head, he thought of scenarios where skin having contact with a surface might make noises. The green haired teen then asked, "So how did your instructor train you this way?"

"Well after we work out she takes me to public places and makes me walk through them without attracting any notice. She follows behind me if she can, kind of acting as my timer. If she thinks I'm taking too long she approaches me and I have to move before she can reach me. It was easy at first, as we would do this in loud places, like malls, parks, or restaurants. Then things got tricky when she took me to schools, library, and even through a courtroom once."

A bit startled by the exercise Midoriya stated, "This sounds like very questionable training."

The invisible heroine responded with, "Yeah, it was embarrassing at times. Though my teacher always told me that if I ever got in trouble, she would take the blame for it, so that was reassuring."

Anxious, the boy inquired, "Did you ever get caught?"

Tooru laid back on Izuku's bed as she said, "No, but my presence would get noticed sometimes. People turning their head in my direction if I made a sound or bumped into something. If that was during a battle or high stakes stealth mission that could spell that end for me. So we kept working at it, and I think I've gotten pretty good at it minus when I have to run. Though going from Wednesday's lesson, it's going to take a bit getting used to my new suit."

Izuku guessed what had happened but still asked, "Didn't go so well?"

"Yeah. I was slipping up on things I would normally do easily," Hagakure explained.

"I'm sure you'll get it with more practice Tooru," Midoriya said as he closed his notebook.

The rest of the visit had the two talk about the addition of Momo to the group. Tooru again thanked Izuku for the decision to invite another girl. She likened her personality as a female version of Tenya if he ever mellowed out a bit. While an odd comparison, the boy could see where she was going with it.

While they discussed Yaoyorozu further, Midoriya thought about Ojiro's problems with her inclusion. Hagakure didn't seem to notice the tailed teen's disdain of their vice president's presence, and he thought that was for the best for now. Izuku wished that everything would go alright on Saturday, as it pained him to see Mashirao so agitated, and if everything went well, perhaps he would have a change of heart.

After the talk, Tooru got up and grabbed her backpack. As she slung it over her shoulder, she said, "Today was terrific Izuku, but it's a school night, so I don't think I should get home before dinner."

Midoriya was okay with this. It's why he wanted this today, and not tomorrow for the possibility of her staying longer since it would be Friday. But before she could leave he got off his chair and said, "Hey before you leave can I ask you something?"

With her arms at her hips, the invisible girl asked with sass, "Izuku how often do I refuse to answer a question coming from you."

Lowering his head a bit, Midoriya said, "A-Almost never." The only instance that he could remember that she did was during their conversation on the bus after the Hero Festival. She was awfully upset with him at the start of their conversation that day, so it didn't bother him that much.

With a giggle, Hagakure said, "Then ask silly."

Midoriya then exhaled loudly. During the entirety of Tooru's visit, an idea had been forming in his mind. It was a crazy idea, why had he even considered it, Izuku thought at the start. But as time flew by, it became more acceptable to him. It's not like she would say no, it was more if Midoriya himself would be okay with it. And now would be the best time to ask, otherwise it would have to be at school, at Momo's house on Friday, or over the phone. He felt this was too personal to ask at any of those locations.

So Izuku breathed in slowly and said, "So your b-birthday is n-next week r-right?"

Tooru stated, "Yep, next Sunday. Still, don't know if I should invite everybody from lunch to celebrate it. But then again I still feel bad that we skipped over Ojiro-san's."

Slowly, Midoriya asked, "A-Actually, would you be o-okay if just m-me and y-you went a-alone somewhere for your b-birthday?"

With interest, Tooru asked, "So like a date?"

There was that dreaded word again. The boy rapidly said, "N-No just a get-together."

Confused, Hagakure responded, "Sounds like a date to me. I mean it would be just like the last time we hung out that one Saturday with Ida-san and Uraraka-san."

With dismay, Izuku asked, "W-Wait, you considered that a d-date?"

The invisible heroine then said, "Okay, you're right that wasn't a date."

Izuku sighed in relief.

"That was more like a double date," Tooru then stated.

Midoriya could only cover his face in embarrassment as his blush dominated his face.

Tooru huffed, "Izuku, it's just a word. You were fine with the idea until I called it a date."

Still, no response came from Izuku.

Bringing an arm to her chin, Hagakure spoke, "Wait, is this like when you weren't ready to come over to my place?" The boy noticed parallels in how he felt back then and now as he let his hands drop from his face. Tooru continued, "Because just like before, people do these things even if they aren't a couple."

Izuku stuttered, "D-Do t-they?"

"Yes, all the time in fact," Hagakure replied.

A small groan escaped Izuku as scratched his head.

Tooru continued by stating, "But I guess dates do help in telling if two people wanna take their relationship to the next level."

Midoriya's thought, the next level?!

The invisible girl then proclaimed, "If you are okay with that possibility, I'd be happy to take you up on your offer Izuku. So what's it gonna be?"

Wait, was she hinting that they could become a couple after the date? Maybe she meant after a few dates. Midoriya still couldn't believe he spent so much mental anguish on trying to decide if their original meetup was a date or not only for Tooru to have considered it a date the entire time. Was he ready for this? Alone? Was he ready for the possibility of them becoming a couple? Tooru seemed ready. Shouldn't he give her a chance?

Izuku got up and looked directly at his friend. After a few deep breaths, he stated with all the confidence he could muster at the time, "Y-Yeah, let's go on another d-date."

* * *

 **This chapter originally was the latter half of chapter seven. But for seeking better thematics of each chapter, I just decided to split it. It's a bit short compared to what I've been writing lately but I felt it just flows better this way.**

 **Writing fluff is probably the easiest thing for me. I get ideas on what I want the pair to talk about far in advance (sometimes weeks) to ever writing these types of scenes. So it's fun to write them as words easily get typed and I really don't have to think much. Most people come here for the fluff as well, so it's always the best to write about them. ;p**

 **I was tempted to include the first study session in this chapter, but I just decided to have that be the focus in the next chapter (and include two of them). Chapter ten will then focus on the date.**

 **Chapter nine will be released on September 18th!**


	9. Hitting the Books

Chapter 9: Hitting the Books

An alarm resonated in a dark room and something stirred. It groaned in protest and turned off the device making the infernal racket. After a long sigh, Izuku got up and leaned against the wall next to his bed. The boy didn't get much sleep last night after what had happened at the end of Tooru's visit yesterday. Midoriya was going to have another date with his invisible friend, alone this time. Sure the concept seemed daunting, and his mind plus heart went into a flutter each time he played out possible scenarios that could happen. But a part of Midoriya felt glad. At first, he considered it was because he would be celebrating his best friend's birthday. Or perhaps it was because Izuku was slowly becoming more assertive in his social life. But in the end, he decided that it was due to Tooru finally being vocal in giving her intentions about the status of their relationship.

 _But I guess dates do help in telling if two people wanna take their relationship to the next level._ _  
__  
__If you are okay with that possibility, I'd be happy to take you up on your offer Izuku._

Tooru's words actually comforted Midoriya. For the longest time, he felt clueless in trying to figure out what her end game was. Was Hagakure giving hints through her actions the whole time? Or was that just her personality of being so friendly? Maybe it was just because he was her first friend at their current school? But when Tooru spoke those words, it told Izuku the stage was now set for what could happen. No more misinterpreting signals. Tooru had spoken that she was open to the idea of becoming a couple, it might not happen just from this next date, but it was a possibility. But the idea of becoming a couple wasn't the main reason of what kept the sleepy boy up most of the night.

As Izuku got up to prepare for school, vague thoughts of the night's dreams popped in and out of his head. Scenes of walking down a beach at dusk, shopping, watching movies together, going out to eat, and other date scenarios. But the source of his displeasure was dreams of physical affection with Tooru beyond just holding hands and hugging. Midoriya's face began to become crimson as he brushed his teeth. The boy wasn't ready for the next step in physical contact in a relationship. Hand holding, at least beyond the eyes of others, Izuku had gotten used to at this point. Hugging, while still a heart-wrenching experience, was still doable. But the possibility of kissing was nightmare inducing, mainly because these dreams were about him being a terrible kisser. Which was probably true, it's not like he could practice for such a thing.

As Midoriya got dressed, the one thought that was giving him some comfort in this dilemma was that they weren't a couple yet. And until they were, if they ever were, he shouldn't be worrying about such things. But mental images of such acts would continue to plague him from time to time no matter what he told himself.

While eating breakfast, Izuku revealed to his mother about his date with Tooru for her birthday. He hadn't the courage to tell her after Hagakure had left the day before. Inko expressed a mix of happiness and nervousness at her son's revelation. The older Midoriya offered any help to her child if he needed it, but Izuku told her that his current priority was the study session tomorrow. He had already told his mom about the trip to Momo's house, but he hadn't mentioned anything about why it was giving him so much stress. With Tooru, Izuku felt he could be open with his mother about anything. But whatever Mashirao was dealing with, and had dealt with before, seemed out of reach to speak about at the moment. Without knowing why Ojiro was so hostile in his opinions on wealthy people, he felt there wasn't much to discuss. But Midoriya was determined to make this work for his tailed friend and the rest of the group's sake.

Getting off the train into the crowded walkways that exited the station was particularly annoying today for Midoirya. The movement was slow as the station was more packed than usual. This was on top of the summer heat bearing down on him.

As the boy slogged through the sea of people, a voice caught his attention, "Midoriya-kun, over here!"

Izuku looked around until he saw Tenya sitting on a nearby bench alone. In one hand he had his phone, and in the other, he was waving to grab his friend's attention. His tall friend had been adding the 'kun' to Midoriya's name like this ever since Tuesday, and the shorter teen had done the same. Midoriya made his way through a group of businessmen and women to approach Ida. As he arrived, Izuku said, "Morning Ida-kun. Why are you sitting here?"

Full of vigor, Tenya proclaimed, "Salutations my trusted companion. As you can see it's pretty much a traffic jam of people today."

Midoriya asked, "Yeah, what gives?"

Looking at his phone and adjusting his glasses, Ida answered with, "Seems like a new villain is causing mayhem further down the rail line."

The shorter teen asked with intrigue, "A new villain?"

"Yeah, early reports are saying the perpetrator has no record. Today must be their debut into villainy," Tenya said while still glancing at his phone.

Trying to connect the dots, Izuku inquired, "So how is that causing such a huge crowd here?"

After putting his phone away the tall teen explained, "Well, I'm going off limited information here, but apparently, his quirk is lightning based. And in his current scuffle with Kamui Woods, he damaged the railway and another station. So trains that were supposed to head that way are instead rerouting here to drop off their passengers. Then you probably have folks trying to head in that direction arriving here not knowing the situation, further adding to the crowd. Plus this is the closest station to our school so most students are coming directly here. It's all just a chaotic mess."

Still confused, Midoriya asked another question, "But still, shouldn't we both be heading to class?"

Letting out a long sigh, Tenya then explained, "Oh, as much as I would love to, classes are canceled for this morning for now. I called the school's office about ten minutes ago and learned of the news."

Pulling out his phone, Izuku noticed an email from U.A. stating exactly what Ida described that was just sent a minute ago. The email entailed a decent number of students and faculty unable to reach the school and for parents to stay alert for updates to the situation.

Midoriya put his phone in his pocket before saying, "Jeez, this is serious."

"Sure is. I hope we can still attend our afternoon classes though," Tenya said with a slightly raised fist.

Izuku held in a chuckle. Only Tenya would still want to go to school on a Friday, despite the possibility of an early weekend, he thought. Sitting down next to his friend, Midoriya then said, "Well, until it clears out here or we get more info from school, I might as well hang out with you Ida-kun."

"Certainly better than trying to get through all of this," Ida said while using his arms and hands to express the vastness of the crowd. He then continued in a slight sorrowful tone, "Especially if they just end up canceling school today."

Izuku then asked, "So you ready for tomorrow?"

With confidence, Tenya stated, "Of course. But are you sure you are? You look exhausted Midoriya-kun."

Perplexed, Midoriya said, "I do?"

Pointing his finger at the shorter teen's face, Ida explained, "You have some serious bags under your eyes."

"I didn't even notice when I was brushing my teeth in the mirror this morning. But yeah, I had trouble sleeping last night," Izuku said with a groan.

Intrigued, the glasses wearing teen inquired, "From what exactly?"

It's complicated, is what Midoriya wanted to say at first. Should he tell Tenya in detail about his plans for Sunday? Izuku had sought advice from his tall friend on the first date, and the date went better than he ever imagined, even if Tooru found out about the plan not long after. Maybe revealing the promised second date could prove resourceful to himself yet again? With some hesitation in his voice, Midoriya explained, "I asked Hagakure-chan yesterday if she would like for just the two of us celebrate her birthday."

With a proud face, Tenya stated, "That's quite gutsy of you to ask. Good for you."

Cupping both his hands on his head, Izuku said, "Yeah, but the kicker is that she h-hinted at the possibility of taking our relationship a step f-further. And then a-asked me to I-I would be o-okay with that if we went t-together."

Midoriya expected his friend to go into a tirade of arm flailing at what he just said but instead, Ida just cupped his chin and stayed silent for a minute. Was he already thinking of a plan? Tenya wasn't considering making it a double date again was he? Even if he did, would Izuku be okay with that? Didn't he promise to go alone with her? As intimidating as the upcoming date seemed, deep down, Izuku knew he needed to go by himself.

Finally speaking up, Ida asked, "Is this what you want?"

"I-I'm not o-opposed to the p-possibility," Izuku responded while poking his two index fingers together.

With a baffled look the tall teen then replied, "So why are you having trouble sleeping? This sounds like a good event for the both of you to experience."

Sinking his head into his shoulders, Izuku responded, "I'm d-dreading the whole 'increased p-physical contact' part of being a c-couple."

This got a good laugh out of Tenya.

A bit irradiated, Midoriya rose his voice slightly and stated, "I'm serious here!"

"Oh I know, sorry. It's just what you said is exactly how I would have worded it," Ida tried to explain between chuckles. After clearing his throat and giving a concerned look to his friend, he asked, "Are you scared that you'll mess it up or something?"

After a long exhale, the shorter teen stated, "Basically."

Putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, Tenya said, "Then consider the possibility that Hagakure-san is also new to such an experience."

This statement got Izuku to acknowledge the probability of it. From what he could tell from his interactions with Tooru, she never had dated anyone else before. Sure she was quite more knowledgeable about the social aspects of dating then he did, but from what Midoriya had been told about her background, she never had a serious relationship with a guy before. After pondering this for a few more moments, he gave a slight nod towards his friend.

"See? You both are at the same level of experience in dating," Tenya explained after patting Izuku's back. He then adjusted his glasses and stated in a serious tone, "And with kissing, it doesn't always have to start at being mouth to mouth."

Midoriya went scarlet at his friend speaking of kissing so openly. But the statement did bring up a mental note from the past, and now he felt like this was a good time to confront Tenya about it. The shorter teen then said, "Hey Ida-kun, remember back to when you helped with my first d-date with Tooru."

Not phased in the slightest, Ida answered, "Yeah. What about it?"

Izuku squinted his eyes before saying, "Something did happen after I texted you about being hugged by Tooru, didn't it?"

With a hue of worry in his voice, Tenya said, "W-What makes you say that?"

Tapping his chin, Midoriya explained, "Uraraka-san asked about my final text not long after that day. She denied anything happened, but I could tell she was hiding something."

Ida grunted before saying, "You've been open to me about your dealings with Hagakure-san, I might as well be the same with Uraraka-chan." As he rubbed his temple, the taller teen stated, "She gave me just a simple kiss on the cheek that day. I freaked out a bit and made myself look like a fool in front of her. I was so embarrassed and asked her not to mention anything back to you. Sorry neither of us answered your text after asking."

Izuku was flabbergasted at the news. He had just expected his pair of friends had hugged each other just as he did with Tooru. Not do something as drastic as kissing, even if just on the cheek. Midoriya then responded, "It's fine, I just found it odd that either of you didn't respond at all."

Resting both of his arms on his knees, Tenya said, "Well since we're being so open to one another at the moment I might as well be upfront with you." Letting out a sigh, Ida continued, "I've been dating Uraraka-chan since that day."

Trying to sound being surprised at the statement, Izuku said, "Oh, is that so?"

"You don't need to hide the fact that you knew," Ida said while squinting eyes.

Midoriya tried to explain, "Well, I only guessed. Uraraka-san had mentioned coming over to your place the Sunday after Stain's capture, and then there was everything that happened this Monday."

With a soft sigh, the taller teen responded, "Yeah, a lot happened that day. Sorry I roped you into my stupid little spat."

"Hey, it wasn't dumb, you just had stuff you needed to work out. And in the end, it worked out better for all of us," Izuku proclaimed.

Nodding the tall teen said, "You're right Midoriya-kun. Sorry to damper our conversation."

With slight confidence, Midoriya then said, "So I guess you and Uraraka-san are a c-couple now."

Shaking his head, Tenya stated, "No. Not yet. We're just trying to get to know each other more before we get to that point."

A puzzled Izuku rebutted, "But you've already been k-kissed by Uraraka-san."

Ida shrugged and explained, "So? It was only once. And it was just on the cheek. I think it was more of a spur of the moment kind of situation for her to do that. Anyways, I want to spend more time with Uraraka-chan before we commit to a higher relationship status."

Midoriya then apologized, "Sorry to be so pushy about this."

"It's fine Midoriya-kun. It's been nice to talk about this to someone. I haven't said anything about Ochako and me to my family. My parents didn't seem to find her arrival to our household as out of the ordinary. They usually are quick to imply such things when I interact with females around my age," Ida finished saying with slight irritation at his last comment.

Izuku asked, "So, do you want to be her boyfriend?"

With a soft smile, Tenya responded, "Of course I do, but I don't want to rush things. I just like how things are between us right now. Maybe after the summer break is over, I might feel inclined to take things further. But for now, I just want to enjoy what we have for a bit longer."

Scratching his head, the shorter teen said, "Man, hearing you say that makes me question if I'd be ready if Tooru confesses next weekend. Maybe I need more time."

"This is no time to second guess your decision Midoriya-kun. You agreed to the possibility; you should keep your word to Hagakure-san," Ida explained.

Nodding Midoriya stated, "You're right. I still can't shake how nervous I am about the whole thing no matter what I think."

Ida leaned back on the bench before saying, "Naturally, but consider that your date is more than a week away. I'm sure your nerves will relax over time. Remember, it hasn't even been a day since you agreed to go on another date with Hagakure-san."

After a long sigh, Izuku said, "I hope so. I need to come up with a game plan once our study session is over tomorrow."

Pointing a thumb at himself, Tenya said, "Well if you ever need advice, you know I'd be more than willing to assist. Though I must be frank, another double date is out of the question."

Again nodding the shorter teen stated, "That I understand. I want, no, I need to do this on my own."

The two teens spent the rest of their time on the bench discussing what Momo could have in store for them tomorrow. The conversation came to an end not long after, as both received an email confirming Tenya's worst fears, school cancellation for the entire day. After Ida pouted for a few moments, he called his mom to come pick him up. Izuku, however, was lucky as his train route home was still open even if it the ride home was quite crowded.

After arriving home to his worried mother, and making sure to reassure her that he was fine, Izuku decided to relax in his room reading some of his older notebooks. It always made him feel good to see how analytical he was even in his younger years. Sure his earliest efforts weren't anywhere near as detailed as they were now, but he could see his child self as being very observant and asking a lot of questions a kid under ten years old would usually never consider. It also reminded Midoriya how far he had come concerning his knowledge of heroics. The older notebooks were mainly just observations and asking questions he couldn't answer at the time. The more recent notebooks, while again containing a lot of observation notes, were more focused on the application of heroic ideals and training. Costume concepts, hero names, and his views of Katsuki's combat styles were the focus of Izuku's current reading. He had to admit his costume ideas were quite terrible back then, more focusing on style than practicality. Also, his hero names were just All Might rip-offs, All Might Jr. being the worst offender. But he was quite young when he wrote this particular notebook, so it didn't bother him that much. However, Midoriya's early notes on Bakugo's battle style would provide a basis for wanting to know more about them in the future. Knowing his fighting tendencies had ensured his victory in their first face-off against Katsuki after becoming a hero. Also, his moves were currently helping Izuku make better use of Full Cowl now that he had the power and speed to apply such tactics.

Before Midoriya could continue recollecting on one of his only good memories of the past, he noticed his phone vibrating on his computer desk. Having no idea who could be texting him, the boy grabbed his phone, only to see it was the group chat.

Lion: So was anyone able to get to school at all today?

Bubbles: Is that you Ojiro-san?

Lion: Yeah, Midoriya-san invited me earlier this week. Just never got around to it though.

Ojiro probably had more pressing matters on his mind to worry about, like the study session, Izuku thought.

Bubbles: Nice to see you here. But to answer your question, I did make it and so did Hagakure-san.

Lion: You two got lucky I guess. I couldn't even get on a train at all.

All Might: I met Ida-kun at a train station, but we decided just to chat until we got the email about the cancellation.

Bubbles: Yeah he texted me about that not long after he left for home.

Midoriya pondered, did Tenya discuss anything in detail about their discussion to Urararka?

Glasses: Indeed I did. Afternoon everyone.

Lion: Yo.

Bubbles: Glad you could join us.

All Might: Hello, again.

Blank: Sup! Sorry, I just noticed my phone getting all these messages.

Lion: Well now that we are all here now, I wanted to ask, are we still good for tomorrow?

Glasses: I have confirmed with Yaoyorozu-san that we are still meeting up tomorrow. The news says the railway will be fully operational by tomorrow morning.

Lion: How were you able to contact her?

Now's not the time for this Mashirao, Izuku thought as he sighed.

Glasses: Well she is the vice president. We sometimes have needed to discuss our duties after school, so I have her number.

Lion: Okay then.

Blank: Since we're on the subject, I guess I should mention I will be going tomorrow for sure.

Glasses: I'm glad you finally said yes.

Bubbles: That's great, I was worried you wouldn't show.

Lion: What convinced you?

Blank: Well Midoriya-kun's logic did of course.

Midoriya rubbed his temple. How long until Tooru starts calling him this during class?

Lion: Figures. He does have his way with words.

Glasses: Excellent. Then I'll see all of you tomorrow.

Bubbles: I can't wait!

All Might: I'm sure it benefits us all by going. Later.

Blank: Toodles!

Lion: Bye.

Midoriya placed his phone back on the desk. Even from the texts, he could feel Ojiro's hesitance to tomorrow. Perhaps the tailed teen was hoping it would be canceled because of what happened today? Izuku truly wanted this to work out, but felt he might need to do a bit more than just hoping for the best. An idea eventually popped into his head, and he grabbed his phone again.

* * *

Yawning, Midoriya continued his stroll down an unfamiliar street in a neighborhood the boy was seldom used to. It was a gated community full of expensive estates that Izuku was surprised that he was able to get into so easily. When he first approached the front gates, he was clueless at what to do next. Momo had not mentioned needing to get past a guard to get into her place. A woman in a uniform walked out the security booth by the side of the gate after Midoriya had stood there for some time trying to decide what he should do.

"Young man, what are you doing here?"

Izuku tried to keep it together and said, "Oh, g-good morning o-officer. I-I'm just here to s-study with a f-friend."

"What's your name?"

"I-Izuku. Izuku M-Midoriya ma'am."

The lady pulled out a notepad and shifted through a few pages before coming to a stop to read whatever she had written down. She then said, "Okay, you check out, let me open the gate for you."

Perplexed Midoriya stated, "W-wait what?"

"I was told you and others would be coming by the young lass of the Yaoyorozu estate. And here you are." The woman then pointed down the road and said, "You'll wanna go down three blocks and take a right. It's the second house on the left from there."

Bowing slightly, Izuku then said, "T-thank you, ma'am."

"Head straight there and don't cause any trouble kid."

Giving a salute, Midoriya proclaimed, "Will do o-officer!" This got a slight chuckle from the woman as she walked towards her booth.

As he continued to walk, Izuku hoped Mashirao wouldn't cause a scene at the front gate. Causing a commotion before even taking a step into Momo's house wouldn't help things. But then again, the boy remembered that Ojiro's parents were cops as well. The tailed teen showed pride in his folk's profession before, so Midoriya couldn't see his friend being disrespectful to the officer. Maybe he was worrying about nothing, yet again.

Izuku had decided to wear clothing that was a bit more spiffy, blue jeans with a grey buttoned-up collard shirt. Sure it wasn't the best to wear during June, but he was willing to sweat a bit on the way home if it meant he looked decent. Midoriya still wasn't one hundred percent sure that Momo was as wealthy as Mashirao said she was as he picked out his attire, but if the tailed teen was right, Izuku felt he should at least appear somewhat nice. And in the end, it seems Ojiro was correct.

Izuku took a right once he reached the third street and strolled on over to the left side. Just one more house to go, he thought. Midoriya hoped this plan would work; it was the only thing he could think up of on such short notice. As Izuku passed the first house, Momo's came into view. It was quite a sight. It was pearly white with a black roof; the front side had four tall pillars near the entrance. Many windows were strewn throughout the three-storied mansion. The front yard had pine trees lined with the driveway towards the main house, and an extravagant garden was in front of the house. Also parked in front of the estate was a stretch limousine, not particularly long but still probably able to seat at least eight people other than the driver.

Midoriya approached the front gate and noticed an intercom. Nervous but still determined, the boy pressed the call button. Not even a minute passed before a sharp voice of a man rang through the speaker, "Boy do you even know what time it is!?"

Izuku pressed the talk button to say, "Y-Yes sir, I-I know I'm early but I n-need to talk to Yaoyorozu-san before the o-others arrive."

With an annoyed tone in his voice, the man said, "What nerve. To speak with the young master in private under my watch would be a-."

Silence followed after the abrupt stop from the mysterious man's rant. The intercom then produced the voice of Momo saying, "Good morning Midoriya-san and sorry about the behavior of our greeter. I'll open the gate for you and meet you at the front door."

The boy made his trip up the driveway admiring the mansion as he got closer. As he neared the front door, he noticed it open slightly and Momo's face pop out. Her hair was let down, which hung down quite far. Once he was in front of the door, Momo asked in a hushed voice, "Um not that I don't appreciate you being here, but you're an hour early Midoriya-san. What was so important for you to want to talk to me alone?"

"I'll tell you in a bit but I don't think right here is the best place," Izuku said while glancing to his right.

The tall girl asked with a confused look, "What's wrong with right now?"

Midoriya pointed at a window to his right. Through the glass, a man was watching Izuku with an intense stare full of anger.

Bluntly Momo stated, "Oh, him." With annoyance, she said in a loud voice, "Yasumura-san I told you to leave us be!"

Yaoyorozu then fully opened the door as she faced towards the gentlemen. Now in full view, Momo's current outfit startled the boy. She was still in her pajamas. Perhaps he did come too early, he thought. It had a white background but had various atomic symbols for the elements in red or black text throughout the clothing. As a side note, Midoriya wondered, did it have all the elements on the periodic table? He realized that staring at her outfit to find this out would have been creepy despite his intentions and instead focused on the man that had just walked up beside Momo. Yasumura was a tall man that Izuku guessed was in his late twenties or early thirties that had short blonde hair with brown eyes. He wore a suit typical of a butler, however, his undershirt and gloves were red instead of the usual white.

Yasumura waved a hand back in forth as he said, "Nonsense. That would go against your parent's instructions to watch over you while they are gone Yaoyorozu-dono." Midoriya immediately recognized his voice as the man that had greeted him over the intercom.

Irradiated Momo responded with, "Watching over me doesn't mean being with me every second of the day."

Pointing at Izuku, the butler said, "But I know nothing of this boy and his intentions, how can you be so sure-."

Putting her hands on Yasumura's shoulders, the young master said, "Look I trust him to behave while around me, he isn't that kind of person Makoto. It's why I was okay inviting him and everyone else here in the first place. So can I please speak to Midoriya-san alone for a few minutes?"

Seemingly touched by what the girl said, Yasumura stated, "I'm unworthy to be called by my first name from you my young master." He exhaled slowly before saying, "I'll take your study materials to the lecture hall while you two," he coughed and gave Midoriya a vile look, "chat."

Yaoyorozu removed her hands from him and said, "Thank you. Could you also please show the others to the room as they arrive?"

With a quick nod, Makoto stated, "Of course milady. I'll tell Ozawa-san to have breakfast brought to the room once I've completed my task."

Momo gave a nod towards the butler and then motioned Izuku to follow her. As they ascended the spiral stairs, he looked around at the large entrance room. It was a spacious area with two balconies for the upper two floors that extended out to give a nice view of the ground floor. An enormous chandelier hung down, almost extending past the second floor. Red decorative rugs against a dark brown wooden floor were on each floor.

As the pair made it to the third floor, Momo said, "I hope you can forgive Yasumura-san's behavior back there. It's not his fault; he got promoted to head butler just last week after our previous one retired. I feel Makoto is just taking his new position a little too seriously at the moment. He's usually a gentleman about most things; I think he's just stressed out that he's in charge since my parents are gone."

Izuku asked, "Where are they exactly?"

"Some science conference in the United States. They didn't have to go, but my mom likes to network with other chemists from different countries, and she doesn't have that many in the west," she said seemingly uninterested in their affairs.

Intrigued, Midoriya said, "So your mother is a chemist. What does your father do for a living?"

With a cheerful voice, Momo explained, "The same profession as my mom, its how they met. They both used to do just high-end research, but now they run a production plant that mainly produces sulfuric acid. But my father is pretty lax about the family business nowadays and lets my mom handle most of the specifics."

Izuku found it odd that her tone changed between discussing her father from her mother. They both had the same job, so perhaps it had to do with their personalities.

Before he could ask any more questions, Momo had stopped in front of a door. She then pointed to herself before saying, "Let me change out of my pajamas, but tell me why you're here so early while I change."

She then opened the door and quickly closed it behind her before Midoriya could get a good view of her room. He only got a glimpse of a huge bookcase before she shut the door. He then began, with a slightly raised voice so she could hear him through the barrier, with, "Well I thought it would be best to tell you this before everyone arrived. I guess I could have asked Ida-san for your phone number to ask you this, but it's a bit personal, and I thought it would be better to tell you in person."

Through the door he could hear Yaoyorozu say, "Sounds serious, is everything alright?"

Sighing, Izuku responded with, "I'm not sure. I don't know the reason why but Ojiro-san seems to have had some bad history with rich folk."

Momo was silent for a few moments before stating, "I did notice a bit of gruff from him when it concerned me, but I just guessed that was just a part of his personality."

Edging closer to the door, Midoriya explained, "No, he's usually a nice guy, I mean he jokes around sometimes and teases Hagakure-san, but he's never been truly harsh to anyone before from what I've seen."

Yaoyorozu then said, "Well, Ojiro-san decided to come here today. Maybe he got over it?"

Leaning on the wall to the left of the door the boy stated, "No, he told me he decided to come more for the group than wanting to be friends with you."

Momo then asked, "Was he being truthful about having to reschedule his Muay Thai training to come here? Or was that a lie?"

"No that's true. But Ojiro-san did use it as an excuse to why he hesitated to say yes to this study session," Izuku said. He felt that he might as well be straightforward with the girl about as much as he could. Midoriya wanted this study session with his friends to work out so badly.

There was a grunt from the girl before she said, "Is that so? Well, thanks for the heads up. I'll try and consider this when interacting with him, but I'm not holding back if he is overly rude to me."

With a sigh, the boy replied, "I understand." Thinking about the reason behind the delay in Mashirao's decision reminded Izuku of Tooru's late acceptance. Since school was canceled Friday, she never got the chance to tell Momo. "Oh and by the way I was able to convince Hagakure-san to come after school on Thursday."

"Yeah, Ida-san told me via text yesterday," the tall girl replied. There was a pause before she spoke again, "Hey I know it's blunt to ask but are you and Hagakure-san a thing?"

Midoriya cursed her smarts in his head. He felt there was no need to hide his relationship with Tooru as Momo would just find out anyway. "S-Sort of, I-I guess. I mean I'm n-not Hagakure-chan's b-boyfriend, but I'm going on a d-date with her by m-myself for her b-birthday. And it's kind of our s-second date actually. Last time I had Ida-kun and Uraraka-san tag along for e-emotional support."

Yaoyorozu abruptly opened the door and then rapidly closed it behind her. What was in her room that she was so quick to shut her door? Perhaps she just was embarrassed to show a boy her room? Regardless, Izuku took note of the girl's outfit. Her current attire reminded him of what a school teacher would wear back in a typical school. The class vice president had oval glasses that were rimless on the bottom. Did this mean she usually wore contacts? Momo wore a buttoned-up mostly white collared shirt that had a light blue frilled design below her neck; oddly it had no sleeves. She also had on a light blue knife pleated skirt held up by a black belt with a golden buckle. Yaoyorozu still had her hair down though, which the boy found odd.

Momo then said, "Wait you had a double date with those two?"

Izuku stated, "Yeah, it was Ida-kun's idea. I had asked him for help, and that was his solution."

Placing a hand on her chin, Momo said, "I knew about those two had been dating for some time, I mean it was evident even before he finally told me two weeks ago, but Ida-san never mentioned doing such a thing with you and Hagakure-san."

The boy was curious and asked, "How did you find out he was dating Uraraka-san?"

The tall girl let out a chuckle as she explained, "Uraraka-san is terrible at keeping a secret. I overheard Ashido-san about three weeks ago in the girl's locker room asking Uraraka-san about her and Ida-san. She became quite flustered and hand-waved it off without giving much of an answer. Watching those two interact afterward just confirmed my suspicions. In the end, I'm glad I found out. Knowing that they were more than just friends was why I asked her to come and help us find Ida-san on Monday."

Her logic made sense to Midoriya, but then another question was asked, "So why did you ask me to come on Monday?"

"You and Ida-san were always chatting it up between classes. Plus you were there to save him when the Hero Killer attacked him. I felt if anybody could knock him out of his funk it would be you. Well verbally, Uraraka-san was there if things needed to get physical," Momo explained, ending with a chuckle.

Crossing his arms, Izuku said with disappointment in his voice, "I tried cheering him up back when we were in the hospital together after everything that happened. Ida-kun seemed too depressed and shaken to listen to me at the time. He had acknowledged his mistakes and to better himself from it, but I couldn't notice the source of his stress was about our friendship not about what had happened."

The tall girl shrugged and said, "No need to blame yourself. It all worked out at the end, and I got to hang with you guys because of it." She then extended a hand and stated with a smile, "And thanks again for inviting me Midoriya-san."

Izuku gladly shook her hand but said, "I should be thanking you for setting this whole thing up."

"Speaking of which, we should head over to the room I want us to study in, I'm sure my breakfast will be there soon. Do you want anything? Our cook Sakurai-san can make a delicious omelet of any variety you could imagine," Momo said with glee in her voice.

Midoriya held up his hands in protest before saying, "I already ate before I came, but thanks for the offer Yaoyorozu-san."

After giving a quick nod, the tall girl walked past her guest and stated, "Alright then, follow me."

As they walked downstairs, Momo pulled out a hairpin and set her hair as it usually looked when at school. When they arrived on the second floor, Yaoyorozu spun around with a puzzled look on her face as she said, "Wait a minute, Ida-san is well off, so why doesn't Ojiro-san act like that too him? They seem to get along quite well."

Startled by her stop, Izuku tried to explain by saying, "Ojiro-san told me he was okay with Ida-kun because he tried to keep his upbringing a secret."

With a concerned tone, Yaoyorozu said, "I see. Do you feel like I flaunt my style of living Midoriya-san?"

Izuku didn't want to bring up the specifics of how Mashirao had assumed her background. Instead, he stated, "I never considered your lifestyle was anything like this until Ojiro-san brought up the possibility. He seems to think that you do, but I just think he just has a knack for spotting it over you being open about it. I mean I still wasn't entirely convinced until I walked up to your neighborhood today."

Momo turned around and said, "Thanks for being honest."

As the two walked down a hallway on the second floor, Izuku asked, "When did Ida-san tell you about his family?"

The tall girl didn't stop walking and continued down a hallway to the left as she explained, "During our first meeting after being assigned our positions. I had asked Ida-kun some questions to know more about him since we would be working together. He was reluctant to tell me at first, but he eventually told me about his background."

Before Midoriya could respond, a young woman walked out of a room. It had large double doors ahead of them to their right. She wore a suit just like Yasumura though she had a small rose head clipped just above her right breast. The woman's hair was black and moderately long, and her eyes were a dark blue, which was behind her rimless glasses. The female butler bowed once she noticed Momo and stated, "Your breakfast is served Yaoyorozu-san."

"Thank you, Ozama-san," Momo said as she passed the servant. The pair then walked into the spacious room behind the double doors. It was a simple but significant in size, with a rectangular table in the middle, that could easily seat fourteen people, even though it only had a few chairs at the moment. Izuku could see Momo's breakfast next to a pile of books on the table. Other than the whiteboard that hung on the opposite side of the room; it was mostly empty.

As Momo inspected the books that her head butler brought, Izuku asked, "So how many servants do you have?"

Without turning her attention from the books, the tall girl said, "Just four. You already met Makoto, and that women just outside is our newest recruit Ari Ozama. The cook I mentioned earlier is Takahiro Sakurai, good luck getting him to do anything outside the kitchen though. And finally, there's Aoi Yuki. She's probably outside doing some yard work." She then stacked her books neatly and sat down in front of her food. Before digging in, she looked at Midoriya and said, "We still have some time before the others start arriving. Why don't you find a seat and go over your notes a bit while we wait?"

Izuku agreed by nodding and sat opposite of Momo as she began eating her omelet.

* * *

Tenya was the first to arrive, about ten minutes early. He didn't seem phased at all from the surroundings and was quick to sit to Izuku's left after greeting Momo. He was wearing light brown khaki pants with a white collared shirt. Ochako and Tooru came not long afterward, right at 9 am. Both spoke of being very surprised and impressed at everything they had seen. The gravity heroine wore a white skirt with a grey t-shirt while the invisible heroine wore blue baggy bike shorts with a teal t-shirt and blue bracelets. Hagakure sat on Midoriya's right and Uraraka to Ida's left.

While they waited for Mashirao to arrive Tenya and Ochako chatted with Momo. Once they had gotten deep into conversing, Tooru tugged on Izuku's sleeve to get his attention. Once he turned to his side, the invisible gal asked in a hushed tone, "Everything going okay with you Izuku?"

With a raised eyebrow the boy said, "Yeah, why are you asking?"

A bit amused, Tooru explained, "Oh I was just expecting you to still be a bit more nervous about everything after what we agreed to do two days ago is all."

"O-Oh that," Midoriya said with a slight blush. He had still been processing his hour with Momo at the moment, so the upcoming date wasn't really in his mind. He then continued, "I-I guess I'm just so e-excited about today to worry about n-next weekend right now."

Tooru placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Glad to see you are taking things so well. But remember if at any time you don't feel comfortable, just say so."

Izuku gave a nod, and after seeing this, Hagakure stated, "Oh and by the way you don't have to worry about what we are going to do for that day, I've got all that figured out."

Midoriya opened his mouth to tried to argue, but he felt a finger being placed on his top lip which made him stop. She continued, "I just want you to focus on spending time with me on my birthday. Not worrying about the specifics of what we should do. You got enough on your plate coming with me alone as is."

Izuku went quite crimson at her touch but she was quick to remove her finger. The boy replied, "I-If you s-say so."

The two then joined in the conversation with their friend to their left. Mashirao arrived at last about fifteen minutes past the hour and looked quite tired, so it was hard to judge his reaction to Mom's house from his grogginess. He was wearing black cargo pants with a white shirt that had the kanji for battle on its front. The tailed teen took his seat next to Tooru, laying his head down on the table.

Tooru spoke up as he sat down, "You okay Ojiro-san?"

Rubbing his eyes, Mashirao responded, "Yeah just not used to waking up this early on a Saturday is all."

Once everyone else welcomed their late friend, Momo pulled out small slips of paper from her pants pocket and stated, "Before we begin today I wanted to share something with all of you. On Thursday I asked Aizawa-sensei if I could get a list of grades based on nonpractical assignments." This got everyone to give Momo their full attention. She then continued, "He would only give me a list of our rank in the class and told me those below the thirteenth need to focus on improving, or they have no hopes for passing the final." Yaoyorozu then held up the hand with the papers and said, "I wrote your rank on these. You don't have to disclose what rank you have, but I thought it would be best for everyone to have a better understanding of where you stand."

Momo then passed them out to her friends by placing them face down in front of them. Tenya was the first to grab it and flip it over; he made a grin before putting it in his pocket. Izuku was next to reach out and was relieved to see the number four after turning the paper over. He knew his grades were good, but the suspense still got to him a bit. Ochako then grabbed her's and gave a look of being disappointed once she flipped it. Mashirao took his paper and gave a nod of approval at it. Tooru was last and gave a loud groan at the revelation.

Ojiro looked over at the Hagakure and said, "That bad huh?"

In a moan of annoyance she replied, "Yeah, sixteenth is terrible."

Well at least her grades are better than four of our classmates, than just two like she initially guessed, Izuku thought.

"I'm not much better," Uraraka stated as she showed her paper which revealed her rank at thirteenth. "Right at the cutoff."

Mashirao examined his paper again before saying, "Well since we're being so open about this, I'm eighth."

In an irritated tone, Tooru stated, "It's not the same to show your rank if you are that high Ojiro-san." The tailed teen merely shrugged at her comment.

Ida crossed his arms and said, "I think revealing my rank will just put salt in the wound."

Mashirao then said, "Let me guess, number one right?"

Tenya shook his head and said, "I believe that belongs to Yaoyorozu-san." With a slight blush, Momo nodded. Midoriya could tell Ojiro was trying hard to not make a reaction to the revelation.

"It's fine Ida-kun. Just tell us," Uraraka spoke.

Izuku heard a soft peep from his right. He guessed Tooru was ecstatic about Ochako being more open about her and Tenya. Ida became crimson at what Uraraka said but still held up his slip showing the number two towards Mashirao.

Closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair, Ojiro stated, "Figures."

Pointing at Mashirao, Yaoyorozu said in a sharp tone, "Could you not lean in the chair, please? You'll leave a dent in the rug if you do that for too long."

Not looking at her, the tailed teen returned the chair to its former position.

Even this got puzzled looks from Ida and Uraraka, but before either could say anything, Momo spoke up, "Well with our grades out of the way I think we can finally get to studying."

Midoriya sighed internally. Of all things to start a conflict between the two, it would be leaning back in a chair. At least Momo quickly moved on about it, Izuku thought.

"So I thought we would focus on literature and history today. There's a lot to cover," Momo said as she placed a palm on a stack of books. She then continued, "Next Saturday we will just go over English and the weekend after that will be modern hero art history. Finally, we'll do a review of everything the weekend before the exams. So, any questions?"

A surprise to everyone, Ojiro said, "So nothing about the practical?" Everyone turned to the tailed teen. He was still looking away from the table.

After adjusting her glasses, Momo explained, "I feel that will just have to be done on our own. We don't have any idea what it could be, so I feel we should all just focus on strengthening our quirks. You all know your quirks better than I do, so it's not something I feel I could help you all with."

This got a soft sigh from Mashirao, but the tall teen continued, "However, going over what All Might-sensei taught us during battle training and perhaps sharing what we experienced in detail during the villain invasion, hero festival, and," Momo coughed and threw a quick glare towards Izuku and Ida's direction before continuing, "the incident with the hero killer wouldn't hurt. If you're okay with that Ojiro-san then perhaps I can squeeze it in on the day we go over art history."

Ojiro now had his full attention on Yaoyorozu. With a slight look of embarrassment at Momo's comeback, he said, "I'd appreciate that, thanks."

Momo gave a triumphant smile at Mashirao's reaction and began her lesson with her friends. She then went over each period of Japan and the major works of literature that were written in each. The vice president also noted their importance during that time period and how they set the stage for new genres or innovation in old genres of writing. From _Kojiki_ , the oldest extant written literature in Japan to the the rise of manga, light novels, and cell phone novels, she covered it all.

The group then spent the rest of their time before lunch answering questions about what they had just gone over. Yaoyorozu asked the questions and Ida plus Midoriya were quite close to answering the most correctly but the taller teen edged out on top. Literature turned out to be Ojiro's worst subject and Hagakure's favorite, so they answered the same correctly as Uraraka.

Yasumura and Ozama came in a bit after noon to deliver lunch. After Momo introduced her servants to the group, they were served shrimp and asparagus tempura (deep fried meat and/or vegetables served with dipping sauce and daikon, or white radish). She seemed a bit agitated at the choice of food but ate it regardless, probably because Yasumura was still in the room, Midoriya thought. The man was giving him quite a stare, even Ojiro had noticed. Regardless, Izuku had eaten the dish plenty of times before but never had it tasted so good, and everyone else agreed, even Mashirao. Everyone but the tailed teen was shocked to see how much Momo was eating. She seemed to have at least twice the portion of anyone else. Midoriya couldn't recall her ever eating that much at lunch.

Midoriya eventually spoke, "You've got a lot of food there Yaoyorozu-san. What gives?"

The head butler was at Momo's side and gave a look of irritation, but before he could respond to his question, the tall girl held a hand up and stated, "It's just a part of my quirk Midoriya-san. For me to create anything, I need a lot of fat to break down to make them. I'm doing some sparing with Yasumura-san after our study session, so I'm just stocking up on it."

Intrigued, Izuku then asked, "What's your quirk Yasumura-san?"

The butler didn't even budge at the question but did answer with, "Like I would tell you of such trivial matters."

Mashirao then stood up and barked, "Hey if you got a problem with Midoriya-kun then just say so."

Damn, did I just start something between these two, thought Izuku. And then he realized, did he just say Midoriya-kun?

"Don't use that tone in front of Yaoyorozu-dono, child," Makoto said with disgust in his voice.

With a cocky tone, Ojiro said, "Or what? You gonna kick me out?"

Internally Midoriya facepalmed and thought, yeah I screwed this up.

Cracking his knuckles, Yasumura stated, "It wouldn't be the first time I've had to remove a snot-nosed brat from this household."

Bringing up his tail and clenching a raised fists Mashirao said, "I'd like to see you try."

By now both Ida and Midoriya had got gotten up and were about to intervene before, without warning, a loud static voice came from Momo as she proclaimed, "Now that's enough from both of you!" Everyone looked to see that the creation heroine had made a loudspeaker. She then handed it to Yasumura and said in a much calmer but still blunt voice, "Call Ozama-san to take care of the dishes in a while Makoto, you can leave now."

The head butler gave a mixed face of anger and bewilderment but did as he was told and left without another word.

Momo then pointed at Mashirao and said with animosity, "Were you really about to start a fight at my house?"

Ojiro sat down and looked away from her as he said, "Your butler started it."

Now pointing at herself the tall teen stated, "And I finished it! I'll deal with him later, but there was no need to threaten a member of my family."

Waving off her comment, the tailed teen said, "Family? He's just a servant to you."

Squinting her eyes in ire at what he just said, Momo rebutted, "You know it's terrible to such assume things about people. Makoto is like a big brother to me, so I find threats of violence against him quite deplorable."

Mashirao finally looked back at his friends then Momo, and he had a look of guilt on his face. He scratched the back of his neck and after a few seconds and said, "Sorry. I let my emotions get the best of me back there. I came for help, and it was entirely disrespectful for me to do what I did considering that."

The apology seemed agreeable to Momo as she gave a slow nod but remained silent. Perhaps she was conflicted about to do next, Izuku thought.

Tenya then cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and asked, "Sorry to ask but what was all that about? I feel like I'm missing something here."

Midoriya looked over to see that Ojiro had a look of panic on his face. He pondered that maybe his tailed friend didn't want to reveal his past dealings with wealthy people with everyone right now. Izuku wanted to say something to cover for his friend, but before he could Mashirao spoke up, "Ever since that guy came in here, he's been giving Midoriya-kun the stink eye. And the tone of his responses when he asked a question, I just felt he was mistreating him. And for that guy to be so insulting to my," he paused for a second but then continued, "best friend unprovoked got a rise out of me."

Izuku was not only surprised at Mashirao's last sentence but also that his explanation being believable despite coming up with it on the spot. He then asked, "You see me as your best friend?"

The tailed teen gave an awkward nod.

Tooru swiftly got between Izuku and Mashirao and she brought them into a hug. She then stated, "Oh, you two are so precious together."

This got a chuckle out of everyone else as Midoriya was, of course, embarrassed about being hugged in front of his friends and Ojiro being teased by Tooru for once.

Once the three separated, Momo spoke while adjusting her glasses, "Let's finish eating and get to studying history. We're behind schedule as is." She then exhaled and looked at Mashirao before saying, "And Ojiro-san."

The tailed teen looked up at her and said, "Yeah?"

In a stern voice, Momo stated, "I forgive you. But you will be apologizing to Yasumura-san once this is all over, understand?"

Giving multiple nods Mashirao stated, "Yes ma'am."

Lunch was then hastily finished so the group could start working on history. Momo started off by saying, "World History has always been easy for me since it's usually not that detailed compared to what schools want us to know about the history of Japan." She then held up a stack of papers before continuing, "I know you all have your notes but consider going through mine if you wish. I got everything from Mesopotamia to the Cold War in here, in short, bullet points for each. They have the necessary details, no fluff and are straight to the point. Compare them to your notes and see if you missed anything, and if you have extra stuff, then it's probably not that important for our test at our current level of schooling."

Yaoyorozu then pointed to the large white board in the back of the room before stating, "What I want to focus on is Japanese history, as I believe that will be the major focus for this section of the test." She then drew an extensive and accurate outline of Japan. After finishing she clapped her hands together and proclaimed, "Let's begin."

As periods came and went in Momo's lecture, she would draw the extent of the empires on the whiteboard. From explaining little details of Paleolithic era of Japan to the current prosperity of the Heisei period, no stone was unturned for the next few hours.

Izuku found it helpful that they went over Japanese literature first. Once they got past the Nara period, he could recollect what they went over in the morning to quickly grasp the culture at the various periods that went over. It now made sense why Momo had decided to study these together.

Momo was exhausted by the end of her lecture, as were everyone else's wrists. She finished by giving a few tips on how to study in short bursts to both Tooru and Ochako. It was nearly five in the afternoon, and Momo called it a day for the group. She asked Mashirao and Izuku to stay behind as she showed the others to the door.

As they waited for her return, Ojiro sighed before saying, "Well, that could have gone a lot worse."

Jokingly, Izuku stated, "You were quite close to making this into a practical exercise."

This got a laugh out of Mashirao as he said, "I almost did, didn't I? Though you and Ida-san were ready to stop me before I could throw a punch."

Izuku had just moved on instinct then, but thinking back to that moment he didn't have a plan on how to stop him. He couldn't get in front of him to act as a barrier as the table was in the way. Perhaps he should have grabbed his tail? No, that was his strongest part of his body, it would have been better to grab his shoulder or an arm. That way he wouldn't need to use his quirk to hold back, or would he? Now that he thought about it, the tailed teen was probably stronger than himself without One for All, even without his tail. Midoriya hadn't gauged his strength against his classmates since he acquired Full Cowl. And even with it, would 5% be enough?

"Midoriya-kun you're spacing out again," Mashirao said with a concerned tone.

Startled at the break of his thought process, Izuku responded, "O-Oh sorry."

"It's fine; I'm sure my antics today made you worry a lot," Ojiro replied.

Midoriya recalled everything that happened before the group's arrival, and then said, "Yeah, quite a bit."

Putting a hand on Midoriya's shoulder, the tailed teen said, "Well, you shouldn't worry anymore. I promise to behave myself because I wanna keep coming here. I won't let my past grudges interfere with us studying, no matter what happens in this room."

"Thanks," Izuku said with a sigh of relief.

Ojiro then let go of his friend and stated, "On another note, Yaoyorozu-san sure is something."

Midoriya gave a confused look towards his friend at this statement.

Mashirao shrugged and replied, "What? I knew she was smart, but I had no idea she was in a whole other league even when compared to you and Ida-san."

Crossing his arms, Izuku replied, "Oh, her wits. Yeah, she's pretty amazing alright."

The two boys then went over Momo's lecture for a few minutes before the girl in question opened the door with her butler behind her. She then asked, "You ready Ojiro-san?"

Giving a rapid sigh as he got up, Mashirao proclaimed, "Yep."

Once the tailed teen walked over and went through the door, Momo turned towards Izuku and stated, "This should just take a minute, I'll be right back."

As he waited, Midoriya began to ponder about his upcoming date. Tooru said she had a plan on what she wanted to do. At the moment the "what" of the plan didn't bother the boy, he just wanted to do something as well. Perhaps he should cook something again? But maybe she already had big plans on where they should eat. Also how long would the date be? Would it cover multiple meals? Should he pay for them in full? Would they actually go shopping this time? Midoriya knew he hadn't the cash to do both. But a possible solution to this came to mind.

Momo then walked into the room and took a seat next to Izuku. She then put a hand to her forehead and stated, "You weren't kidding about Ojiro-san. I still can't believe he almost came to blows with Yasumura-san."

"Yeah, that got tense there for a few moments," Midoriya said as he scratched the back of his head.

"It's a good thing you warned me about Ojiro-san, things might have ended differently had not told me about it," Yaoyorozu sighed.

Izuku gave a nod in response. Coming early did pay off in the end, plus he got to learn a lot about the everything heroine.

The tall girl had a conflicted look on her face but eventually stated, "To answer your question from earlier, Makoto is quirkless."

Midoriya thought, quirkless? Then how would he be able to spar with Momo with her using her quirk? Yasumura did look quite fit, and his muscle tone did show through his uniform, but she often used weapons when fighting. Interested in her response, he stated, "Yasumura-san must be quite skilled to spar you without needing a quirk."

Momo smiled as she said, "Yeah he's quite agile and is unmatched when using weapons. He even taught me to use a bō staff."

Izuku recalled previous battle trainings at school; Momo did regularly make such a weapon. Getting up he then said, "Well I don't want to get in the way of your practice, so I'll make my leave."

Motioning towards the door, Momo stated, "I'll show you the way out then Midoriya-san."

* * *

Sunday was mostly spent figuring out what to do for the date for Midoriya. He only had a week until Tooru's birthday. Izuku's birthday was almost precisely a month after hers, and to get more money for next weekend, he asked his mom if he could have some as a present in advance. Inko understood the situation and said she would have been okay giving him cash regardless of his upcoming birthday. But Izuku was adamant that it should replace his present. It was just the two of them, so money was sometimes tight, and the younger Midoriya didn't want his mom to spend more than she had to on him. With enough yen for to pay for both him and Tooru two meals, a gift, and extra to spare for some light shopping, the boy felt he had enough.

But what could he give Tooru as a gift? What would a guy give a girl as a present, at their level of a relationship? The younger Midoriya was almost tempted to ask his mom, as she was a female, for advice but soon realized she would probably be as clueless as he was. Hours of looking up various ideas online didn't help. The natural choice was a dessert, like chocolates, but Izuku felt that was boring and he still wanted to make something himself for her. He was conflicted if he should make something with caramel, like last time, or try something new. A part of him felt caramel would be the obvious choice since he knew she would like it, but another part of him felt because it was her birthday he should be creative and do something different. Regardless, Midoriya couldn't come up with an idea for a gift and instead decided to study for the remainder of the day.

While taking a break from his studying Izuku continued his tradition of looking at the heroic reports from the blog he often visited. He was mostly interested in the debuted villain that had prevented him from having school Friday. Reports were quite vague and even Kumai Wood's testimony was lacking details. It seemed the pro hero was quite uncomfortable during his interview with the press. The reporter seemed to attribute his behavior due to not being able to capture the villain. The comments to the video instead mostly blamed it on his inexperience as a pro hero, as he was still young. Midoriya really didn't care for the drama, but Kamui Wood's behavior did seem odd.

Izuku eventually grew restless over thinking about the date while studying and decided to call it early and just got to bed. But before he could he noticed his phone vibrating and picked it up to see he had received a private text.

Bubbles: You busy?

All Might: Just about to head to bed, need something?

Bubbles: I'll be quick then, I never got to personally thank you for your help on Monday.

Midoriya wanted to reply back but saw she was still typing and waited for the message.

Bubbles: I wanted to tell you yesterday but there was never a moment to talk to you alone.

All Might: There's no need Uraraka-san, I was just as worried about Ida-kun as you were.

Bubbles: I'm more talking about helping me through it. Calming me down on the stairs and that hallway, it really meant a lot to me.

Izuku really didn't know how to respond to the praise. He couldn't type an answer, but Ochako texted yet again.

Bubbles: Is something wrong?

It took a minute but after some pondering Midoriya started typing.

All Might: No, but it's just weird for me.

Bubbles: How so?

All Might: It's kind of ironic to me what happened.

Bubbles: ?

The boy waited some time until he could collect his thoughts and then typed.

All Might: I'm usually the one that's panicking about everything. I mean remember the double date? Talk about needing emotional support.

All Might: But that Monday I was the providing the support, for you, and Ida-kun. And it just came naturally, there really wasn't much hesitation. I just did it, and looking back on it now it felt so out of character for me. At least the me before I came to our school.

All Might: It's got me thinking, maybe I really am changing for the better.

All Might: Socially I mean.

A few minutes passed before Midoriya got a reply.

Bubbles: I think Hagakure-san is to thank for that.

All Might: Really?

Bubbles: Of course! The more I see you two bond the less awkward I've seen you be with everyone. She's having a positive influence on you Deku-kun.

Izuku thought, her now too? Though it made sense. She sounded very thankful for what happened on Monday. Plus the two had been becoming closer friends since the double date, which felt like forever ago by now. Concerning the girl's logic about Tooru, it seemed genuine and her words comforting. It was moments like these that reminded Izuku why Tenya liked Ochako.

All Might: Maybe you're right.

Bubbles: You know it! Anyways, I won't hold you any longer, good night.

All Might: Thanks and see you tomorrow, Uraraka-chan.

* * *

Monday was a scorcher. Even the morning walk to school had Izuku working up a sweat. The summer break was fast approaching, and the heat wave was a great reminder of this. The boy was still a few blocks from the school, and his attention turned to someone he saw in the distance in front of him. Picking up his pace, Midoriya eventually caught up to them and proclaimed, "Morning Uraraka-chan, sure is hot this morning."

She turned around and happily said, "Morning Deku-kun. And yeah, with as bad as it is now, the walk home from school is going to be terrible."

Midoriya had noticed Ochako only said his hero name during battle training and when Tooru wasn't present. He believed the floating heroine had seen Tooru's dislike of the name and he was thankful for only saying it when she wasn't around.

"I'm glad Yaoyorozu-san set up these study sessions. Saturday was super informative, and I'm feeling a lot more confident about the finals now," Uraraka cheerfully said.

The two crossed another street before Izuku responded, "I hope Hagakure-chan felt the same, she needed it the most out of anyone else."

With a perplexed look, Ochako asked, "Why not just ask her about it Deku-kun?"

"I guess I could have sent her text about it. I was busy with other things Sunday," Midoriya replied.

Uraraka then raised a finger before saying suggestively, "Oh, I forgot, you have something else on your mind at the moment."

Izuku looked at her with a bewildered face. Sure he had many things going on in his mind at the moment, but what could she be suggesting, he thought.

Ochako then took her finger and poked the boy's shoulder as she said, "Don't play dumb, I know about your upcoming date with Hagakure-san on her birthday."

Midoriya felt heat creep into his cheeks at this statement. A few seconds passed as he tried to think of a way to respond. Eventually, he asked, "She t-told you?"

"No, Tenya did. But you already learned from him I'm dating him anyway," Uraraka stated.

Izuku tried to say, "D-Did Ida-kun also t-tell you about-."

"Yes, he did tell me about the possibility of you two becoming boyfriend and girlfriend," Ochako interrupted. She then said with an overjoyed expression, "And I think you two have always been super cute in your interactions, so I hope the best for the both of you."

Midoriya said awkwardly, "T-Thanks?"

The two remained silent for a few moments before the floating heroine spoke up, "Man, our meeting like this makes me think yesterday's text was a waste if we were just gonna see each other today before school."

Izuku tried to argue, "But neither of us knew we would bump into one another like this."

Ochako huffed, "I guess so."

"And besides, I probably wouldn't have been as upfront with you with what I texted you last night if it was face to face. Talking over the phone removes a lot of stress sometimes for me," the green haired teen explained.

Uraraka gave a small smile and replied, "You did kind of gush there for a bit."

Lowering his head slightly, Izuku stated, "Sorry. I just wanted you to understand how I found my behavior as ironic and not come off as weird."

"It's fine, I got to learn more about you," Ochako said as she patted Izuku's back.

This got a slight blush from Midoriya but as they both crossed another busy street, he asked, "Hey I'm trying to figure out a gift to give to Hagakure-chan. Any ideas?"

Uraraka put a hand to chin and stopped once they were back on the sidewalk as she pondered the question. A minute passed before she replied, "I'm sure Hagakure-san would be just fine if you bought her a tasty dessert."

Sighing, Izuku stated, "Well, I already planned to make her that."

Curious, Ochako asked, "Oh, what is it exactly?"

Shaking his head, Midoriya replied, "I still haven't decided."

The two continued their walk to the campus. As they arrived at the school's courtyard, Ochako spoke up once again, "I'm sure she wouldn't mind clothing either."

Izuku knew Ochako was trying to be helpful, but her ideas weren't solving his dilemma. "What do you suggest I get her? I don't know her size, and it would be obvious of my intentions if I asked her and not to mention e-embarrassing."

Bringing her head down slightly, the floating heroine said, "Sorry, I'm trying."

Waving a hand, Midoriya sought to cheer her up and said, "It's okay, I appreciate the suggestions. I still have a couple of days to figure this out."

"Well if want any advice from a girl's perspective don't hesitate to shoot me a text. I'll try to answer the best I can," Ochako stated while holding up her phone.

"Thanks, Uraraka-chan, I'll be sure to remember that," the boy said as the pair walked through the front doors of U.A.

* * *

It was Thursday afternoon. Present Mic was finishing his English lesson with class 1A. Despite his ditzy behavior in front of large crowds, the loud-mouthed hero was a surprisingly good teacher. English was confusing for a good number of students, and he was currently going over exceptions to the standard rules in verb tense that was common in the English language.

However, Izuku was instead mulling over what had happened the last few days. Between his increase in studying and his daily exercise routine, he didn't have much time to focus on the details on the date. Midoriya did, however, make up his mind on what to cook for the birthday girl. Wednesday evening, with his mother's help again, he decided on making nutty coconut caramel brownies. It felt more complicated than his last cooking project, but because of having caramel he had a better chance of her liking it. Izuku liked the idea as he could also serve it cold, unlike the donuts he made. Inko lacked coconut though for her son to use, so he decided he was going to buy some after school today.

The bell ringing brought Izuku back to the world outside his head. As he left the classroom, Mashirao came to his side and asked, "You're in a hurry, what gives?"

"Oh, I need to pick up some coconut shavings from the store," Midoriya explained.

Ojiro then asked another question, "Something for your parents?"

Mashirao didn't know it was just him and his mom at home and wasn't ready to disclose that just yet. However, he did decide it wouldn't hurt to tell his tailed friend about his plans for Tooru. Izuku had already told Mashirao about going to her birthday as a date on Tuesday before class anyway. Shaking his head, he replied, "Nah I want to try to cook a treat for Hagakure-chan on Sunday."

"Well I hope everything turns out well for you two, I'm running out of material to tease Hagakure-san with. You being her boyfriend would give me plenty of ammunition," Mashirao said with a sly tone.

Blushing but also annoyed, Izuku replied, "That's an unpleasant thing to say Ojiro-kun."

"Just telling you how it is," the tailed teen said honestly.

The two had exited the school's front doors as they continued talking. However, before they could leave the U.A. courtyard something caught Ojiro's attention and he stopped in his tracks. Wondering what was wrong, Midoriya asked, "Something the matter?"

With a puzzled look Mashirao responded with, "Yeah, my dad is here."

Izuku looked ahead to see a lanky man leaning against a police car. He was wearing typical detective outfit, a tan overcoat with a black suit underneath and matching slacks plus dress shoes. The only thing odd about him was an unusual belt he had around his waist. It was round and wrapped around him about three times. The man had brown hair and blue eyes; he also was quite thin.

Ojiro's dad began giving a soft wave towards the two, and Mashirao started to walk forward with Izuku right behind him. As the tailed teen got near, he asked, "Why are you here dad?"

The man then wheezed, "Got some materials to give your school's security. Mostly just restocking. Usually, my co-worker, Tsukauchi-san would take care of this, but he came in sick today. So I thought I would do him a favor." He paused to catch his breath before continuing, "I waited here hoping I would run into you so I could have you take it up if you don't mind."

Midoriya remembered that name. It was the detective that All Might trusted. It made him wonder, did Mashirao's dad also know of his mentor's secret?

With confidence in his voice, the younger Ojiro was quick to say, "No problem. Where do you need me to take it?"

The man made some motions with his hands as he explained, "The security office is right before the teacher's offices. Should be on the right before the double doors." He then clicked a button on a keychain he was holding in his left hand, and the back trunk opened. As Mashirao went to the back of the patrol car, his dad fixed his gaze on Izuku and asked, "So you the Midoriya kid my son keeps babbling about?"

"Y-Yes sir," Izuku replied sheepishly.

The father of the tailed teen then edged closer to get a better look at the boy. Before Midoriya could say anything further, the sound of closing trunk got his attention. Mashirao was holding up a big box with just his tail. He then said, "I'll be right back."

After a bit of a cough, the detective replied, "Thanks, and I'll drive you home when you get back, I'm done with work today."

After giving a nod in response, Ojiro made his way back towards the school.

The thin man then spoke up, "I've heard good things about you boy. I saw your performance at U.A.'s hero festival on the TV as well. That was a mighty impressive display against Endeavor's kid."

With more confidence, Izuku responded with, "Thank you Ojiro-san."

The man leaned in and said in a hushed tone, "My son hasn't been causing any trouble, has he? He used to quite the troublemaker at his previous school."

Midoriya wondered if that had to do with Mashirao's hatred of rich people. He couldn't see his friend get in trouble over anything but that. But for the most part, Ojiro did act fine at school, only the incident from Saturday raised any flags.

Izuku decided to play it safe and shook his head, "No, sir."

The older Ojiro scratched his chest as he said, "That's good. From what I hear he has you and some other friends he can rely on. That's an improvement over his last school."

The boy then asked, "What do you mean by that?"

The man tried to explain, "Ah, what was that kid's name? He was my son's only friend back then. I remember Mashirao telling me he was in his current class at U.A."

Izuku thought carefully at who the detective meant, and eventually, a memory from even before the hero festival came into his head. Midoriya remembered he had met the two conversing with each other on a bench one morning. He then spoke up, "You don't mean Koda-san, do you?"

Softly landing his fist down into his other open palm, the detective stated, "Ah, yes that was his name. He was always very quiet. Is he still like that?"

Giving a quick nod, Midoriya simply said, "Very."

Letting out a sigh as he shook his head, the officer replied, "That's a shame, Koda-san was always a nice kid. But he's still young. Hopefully being at U.A. for a while will teach him to be more assertive. He wants to be a hero after all."

Izuku was tempted to ask about Mashirao's past, specifically his troubles at his last school. But his friend could be back any minute, and he just met his father. Asking something so personal about his son at this point wouldn't amount to anything most likely. But something else was catching the boy's attention. The older Ojiro was breathing heavily and looked exhausted. He couldn't be sick as well, could he?

A series of sounds then came within the patrol car. A grunt came from the man as he said, "Who's trying to call me now?"

Izuku took a step back as he saw the detective's belt unravel. It wasn't a belt at all; it was a tail! He almost wanted facepalm because it was so obvious hat it was. The slender appendage extended itself into the open window at the driver's seat. It then came out wrapped around a phone and returned to its owner to drop it in his right hand.

The officer glanced at the phone and then said, "This should just take a few minutes, excuse me." He then took a few steps away from the car as he answered his call. The tail then wrapped around his waist just as before.

From what Midoriya could observe. The tail was both similar and different from Mashirao's extra appendage. They both had the same color and the same tuft of hair at the end of the tail. The older Ojiro, however, had a skinnier tail and longer. It made sense to Izuku why he wrapped it around himself; it was probably awkward to walk if it was fully extended all the time.

While the boy waited for the man to finish his call, he saw Mashirao come into view. As the younger Ojiro arrived, he asked, "Who is he on the phone with?"

Izuku just shrugged in response.

The tailed teen then asked another question, "He didn't do or say anything embarrassing did he?"

Shaking his head, Midoriya replied, "No, but I saw him use his quirk. He used his tail to grab his phone out of the car."

Giving a quick nod, the tailed teen explained, "Yeah, he often uses it for simple tasks. It doesn't have any strength to it though like my quirk. My dad struggles to carry anything over ten kilograms with it. However, his tail is a lot more flexible than mine could ever be."

Izuku was curious about what quirk Mashirao's mother could have. Quirk inheritance was always varied from person to person. Sometimes a child would only inherit the quirk of one parent, other times they would mix, with varying degrees between each parent's quirks. Other times quirks would mutate with qualities similar to the parents or into something entirely different altogether. Mashirao's was obviously different from his father's, so it was either because of mutation, or he acquired some traits from his mother.

Another thought also came into Midoriya's mind. Should he ask his friend about the man's sickly state?

But before he could ponder this question any further, the older Ojiro returned. He huffed before stating, "I swear some people I work with can't function without me." He then looked at his son and said, "Let's go Mashirao." The man then slowly got into the patrol car.

"See you in class tomorrow, Midoriya-kun," the younger Ojiro said before climbing into the passenger seat.

Before driving off, the officer rolled down his window to say, "Nice chatting with you kid. Later."

Izuku waved at them as they pulled away from the school.

* * *

Midoriya awoke Saturday feeling quite uneasy. Tooru's sixteenth birthday was tomorrow. He had made a good batch of the brownies yesterday and finally decided on what do for a gift. Tooru had told him on Friday after class not to worry about paying for food, so Izuku decided to use the money he was going to spend on meals and funnel it all on the present. The idea was while they were shopping around if anything caught the eye of his invisible friend he would pay it in full. Unless it was costly, Midoriya felt it would have been enough to cover it. This way he wouldn't have to worry about picking the right article of clothing and try to figure out her sizes.

Izuku called Ochako to confirm what the cash amount he had would be enough to buy anything Tooru might want, outside of jewelry. She always seemed to be in the know about prices due to her penny-pinching nature. Besides the purchase of a ring or necklace felt like coming on too strong for Midoriya. Speaking of clothing, the boy had decided to go once again casual. Since they were going in the morning, he felt that going formal wasn't necessary. He hadn't chosen exactly what to wear, but it did narrow down his choices a bit. Izuku decided he would figure it out once he got home from the study session.

Hagakure had only told him to meet her at the train station by his house at 10 am. She wouldn't say anything else about where they were going. So despite having everything ready to go for tomorrow, because of the lack of knowledge of what the pair were going to do was the reason for Midoriya's dismay. The possibilities of what Tooru could want to do seemed endless.

After a quick breakfast, Izuku made the trip towards Momo's house for the second time. He left a bit later than last Saturday but still planned to be there a few minutes early. Today he wore dark brown khaki shorts with a white t-shirt. He felt he stood out a bit last Saturday from everyone else, minus Tenya and Momo, so he dialed it down to just plain casual.

When the green haired teen spoke into the intercom this time he was greeted by a woman's voice he didn't recognize.

"Morning kid, I'll get the gate for ya," the mysterious woman stated with a hint of excitement.

Midoriya thought that couldn't have been Mrs. Yaoyorozu; she sounded too informal. The boy recalled Momo mentioning one of her female staff working outside during his last visit. Perhaps this was her? He couldn't remember her name though, as it was only mentioned once.

Izuku soon found his answer as he saw a short woman sitting on the front steps of the house. Her hair was quite short and light brown as were her eyes. She wore drab, baggy clothing that had splotches of dirt all over it. The woman stood up and walked down the steps once Midoriya got close. She gave a lazy wave and said, "Sup, kid."

Izuku replied, "Hello, ma'am. Is everything okay? Where's Yasumura-san?"

"Everything is fine. I just asked the boss if I could be in charge of greeting you kids today. I never got to see ya'll last weekend since I was mowing the backyard that day as you arrived. The name is Aoi Yuki, and I'm in charge of maintenance and landscaping here at the Yaoyorozu estate," Yuki explained. She then held out a hand as if to shake.

Midoriya obliged but soon regretted it as her hand was quite sweaty. She didn't seem to notice, or care and continued, "So what's your name kid?"

As the boy wiped his hand on his shorts answered, "Izuku Midroiya ma'am."

"Ah, you're the one boss wanted to speak to," Aoi stated as she pulled out a small radio. She then said in a bit more proper tone, "Yasumura-san, the kid you wanted to talk with is here."

A few seconds passed before a response came from the device, "Thank you Yuki-san. I'll be there post haste."

Curious, Izuku asked, "What did Yasumura-san want to talk with me about?"

"No idea. He just told me to call him down here when you arrived," the female explained.

Aoi then walked back to the steps and took a seat exactly where she sat before. She then pointed towards the door behind her, "You can head in now, just wait for the boss."

Midoriya asked one last question, "Am I first to arrive?"

Yuki shook her head and replied, "Nah." She held up a fist as she said, "First was that invisible chick Hagakure-san, then Ida-san who wore glasses, and the last one was Uraraka-san, the plain one." As she said this, she raised a finger after saying each name. Aoi then continued by asking, "Did I get their names right?"

Izuku gave a nod to her question. The woman then gave a small fist bump at her accomplishment for remembering. Yuki then proclaimed, "With you here now, I just gotta wait for one more kid to show up. Good luck with your lesson Midoriya-san."

"Thanks," the green haired teen stated as he passed Aoi. He then approached and opened the door. After closing it, he turned to see the head butler descending the stairs.

Yasumura stated, "I'll be right there. Just stay put boy." Once he stood in front of Midoriya, he stated, "Let the two of us have a chat as we walk to the lecture hall. Follow me if you please."

Midoriya hesitantly followed as Yasumura strolled towards the stairs.

After clearing his throat, the butler stated, "First I'd like to apologize for my behavior from last Saturday. I obtained my new position as head butler recently, and then my masters leave on a whim for such a long time and it has been quite stressful for me."

Surprised, the boy asked, "Wait they still aren't here?"

With a quick sigh, Makoto explained, "I'm afraid not, despite the science conference being over they decided to see the sights for a while. I believe they are enjoying the beaches of California at the moment. I don't expect them back until later next week."

After seeing Mashirao's father, Izuku was looking forward to seeing Momo's parents as well. But that would have to wait another week it seemed.

As the two started to ascend the stairs, Yasumura continued, "Well with that out of the way, you should know you aren't the first boy for Yaoyorozu-dono to invite to this house to help with school. Let's just say that the previous whelps she did invite always just took advantage of her hospitality."

This seemed out of nowhere, but the idea that Momo had been exploited because of her smarts disgusted Izuku. For her to have such experiences in her past, it must have meant she truly trusted the group when she invited them here to study. Midoriya then asked, "And you thought I would be the same?"

Bluntly Makoto replied, "Yes."

The boy then asked another question, "But why just me though?"

Yasumura explained, "Because out of everyone that came that day, you were the only one she has mentioned before. I mean she's talked about Ida-san before, but that was strictly professional. You, on the other hand, have been a frequent topic the days leading up towards your arrival when I would converse with my young master. Honestly, I thought it was a crush at first. The other devils were boys she fancied you know."

Tripping on the next step on the stairs Izuku studdered, "W-wait w-what!"

Makoto was quick in his movements as he caught the clumsy boy and prevented a nasty fall. While helping the green haired teen up, the butler stated, "Calm down, it is unsightly. Yaoyorozu-dono told me on Saturday of your blooming relationship with the invisible lass, so I've dismissed the thought."

Once Midoriya had regained his balance and thanked the butler, the two continued climbing the stairs.

"But back to the matter at hand. Momo is very precious to me, and I say this not as her servant but as a man. Seeing her in pain from being used like some book that can be read and just thrown away infuriates me. Especially since those dogs thought they had a chance at courting with my young master, the scoundrels," Yasumura said with even more anger than when he was confronted by Mashirao.

Izuku asked yet again another question, "So what convinced you otherwise?"

Makoto responded in length by saying, "My young master gave me quite a talk after you all left. That's where I truly learned what kind of person Izuku Midoriya is. I've never really been in the know about the affairs of heroes, it never really interested me. But even I know of the current number two hero, Endeavor. She showed me a recording of your battle with that son of his, and it truly moved me. You could have won that brawl, but instead, you helped that child even though he never asked for it, which secured your loss, in an environment where being number one is everything. Like a true hero. Knowing that she doesn't like you in a romantic sense, I've surmised that she simply admires your conviction and personality. A potential good friend to put in simpler terms."

Midoriya was flattered by the head butler's words. He also had no idea Yaoyorozu had such thoughts about him. He could only respond with, "That's a lot to take in. But, thanks."

Yasumura rebutted the boy's statement by saying, "There's no need to thank me. I wronged you by assuming such terrible things, and it got that tailed boy to almost come to blows with me because of it. Now I see why he would go to such lengths to defend your honor. And because of that I no longer have any hard feelings about you or that child."

The pair then arrived at the lecture hall.

The head butler cleared his throat before stating, "Now if you will excuse me, I have much work to do around this estate this morning. I hope today's study session operates in favor for you and your friends, Midroiya-san." And with that, the man made his leave.

Izuku entered the lecture hall a bit dazed. What just happened was quite an eye-opener for the boy.

Tooru quickly noticed his presence, and then said with full confidence in front of his everyone, "Morning Izuku! Ready to get this over so our date is that much closer?"

Midoriya sighed, and now there's this, he thought. Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day.

* * *

 **Dat chapter length (almost 18k). Its length, however, is not the main reason why this was posted late. I had just come off working twelve days straight last Friday. Then Saturday I spent half the day helping a co-worker of my mom (I was visiting my parent's house that weekend) remove drywall and cabinets from her home (flood damage from Hurricane Harvey) and was too exhausted to be motivated to write. I woke up Sunday with only 6k words written, and then Monday with only 8k. Then I had to work from 9:30 am to 8:30 pm Monday through Thursday, and 9 am to 5 pm on Friday. By Friday night I was at 13k words, Saturday night was 15k, and the rest was written and edited today. Also, I spent a good chunk of my free time since last Friday playing Metroid: Return of Samus(a remake of Metroid II for the 3DS). Metroid is my favorite video game series, and it's been ten years since Metroid Prime 3, so I might have gone a little overboard playing it. I'm sure Super Mario Oddessy will do the same to me next month as that game looks hype as hell. Sure I could have cut it, even more, to post it on time but I wanted to at least get to the start of the second study session before ending the chapter. I was tempted to stop after the first study session, but I wanted to have the next chapter focus almost solely on the date.**

 **Sorry I couldn't keep my promise about having a lot of fluff this chapter between the pairing. By the time I began writing about the date, I had noticed the already absurd length of the chapter. I underestimated how much I wanted to cover before I got to the date. Also, the dating scene is quite large by itself and decided just to have it take up most of the next chapter. This chapter focus was more about having some more one on one scenes between Izuku and his friends and to flesh out Momo since she just joined. Chapter nine is further contributing to the secondary theme of this fic, but it will still be some time until it all comes together and becomes central to the plot. Next chapter will be almost entirely about the date and its aftermath (I'll have a summary of how the second study session went, but that's it on that), with a little set-up for another group activity I plan to do in chapter eleven. Chapter twelve should bring us to the week before the exam (rejoining the manga again for a bit) and have the Mashirao arc come front and center.**

 **Since the last chapter, I am now technically in the Top 100 stories for MHA on this website based on member favorites/follows. Okay, there are only 2.5k stories of this series (and with most fan fiction a lot of them are not the best of quality), but it's still something. Going by favorites (161), this story is rank #93, and if we go by follows (239) it's rank #59. To me, that's crazy since this story turned two months old yesterday! Especially with how incredibly niche this pairing is. It might seem repetitive when I bring up these stats, but it's been one of my biggest motivators for continuing to write this. So you'll continue being awesome!**

 **This chapter is a first for me; I made some original characters! To me, OC's work best as side characters in an already established series. OC's tend to be pretty mary sue / gary stu -ish when presented as major or main characters. This, of course, is not always true but tends to be a common occurrence in fanfiction. The butlers will only be around for a short while, but I felt their presence would be good practice for me to get used to writing OC's in the future.**

 **So I'm thinking about cross-posting this fic on AO3. I've been a lurker on this site for ages but avoided AO3 cause it always seemed a third of it was just smut which is usually a turn-off for me since most of them are one-shots (you lose the emotional impact of sex if there's no build-up, especially if it's a unique ship that needs proper explanation as to why they are a couple, or it's just poorly written). And while I feel this site's tags are very limited, it's not as obnoxious as the limitless tags that AO3 has (which makes looking for stories, in a general sense, sometimes a pain). But at this point, I feel that it wouldn't hurt to expose this fic further, as the series of MHA seems more prevalent there than here (has triple the number of stories). Chapters would still be posted here first, and on AO3 later that day if I go through with this. I'm mainly just asking peeps that have cross-posted between the two websites if it was worth it or not. Also, how is transferring a story from here to there like? A lot of work or not? Are there any other popular sites that I should consider as well? Again just thinking about broadening my horizons and exposing this fic to different communities, which might give different feedback that could influence my story for the better.**

 **One thing I noticed on AO3 though, which is similar to this website, Izuku x Tooru fics didn't exist, that wasn't a harem, until mine came along (though I did see one villain Izuku fic here that began a few weeks before mine, that recently might be hinting a ship with her so maybe I'm not the first?). This ship will probably continue to remain exceedingly rare for some time. From what I've seen, fic-wise, Izuku's non-harem ships ranked by popularity (if only going by students in 1A) is like Shoto, Katsuki, Ochako, Tsuyu, Mina, Momo, Tooru, and then Kyoka. Yeah, that's right, I think Kyoka is below even Tooru, as I have yet to see even one non-harem fic that ships them. Another way to judge a pairing's popularity is to see how much fan art it has. I have seen maybe two pictures ever depicting Tooru with Izuku as a couple and none for Kyoka. Maybe this story will inspire more with Tooru? ;p**

 **As one of my lengthy reviews has said, and myself as well in an earlier author's notes, there is a decent possibility that Tooru could be the traitor that's been hinted in the manga. I will continue to write the story with the mindset that she isn't. If it turns out to be true, then the story will probably go on hiatus for a bit as I try and restructure the currently posted chapters and change my plans for the future. As annoying as it would be to have to rewrite a bunch of stuff and change my vision for this fic, it would be too interesting of a plot to ignore (unless it crashes and burns in execution in the manga). The hiatus would probably need to be for a while (a few months) to see how that arc would play out before making such big decisions.**

 **I made somewhat significant changes with chapter six and seven. I moved the final scenes with Tenya / Momo in chapter six to the start of chapter seven (I also added an extra very short scene to serve as a conclusion for chapter seven). I felt having the intro to Momo being kind of just smacked at the end of chapter six wasn't working for me. I then split chapter seven into two chapters, with chapter eight being solely about Tooru's second visit (I also added one more conversation topic between Izuku and Tooru on a subject I forgot to mention). This meant chapter eight is a bit short, but I felt it was better to separate it than for it to be the conclusion of a Momo / Mashirao centric chapter.**

 **Before I go, some feedback from reviewers. I'm usually good in responding to reviewers lately, in private messages, but I felt I needed to discuss this with everyone. Gallifrey denizen pointed out an error I had made in the last chapter. I had originally made Mashirao's internship with Desutegoro, but they noted that Kyoko had her internship with the Punching Hero as well. So I decided to change it to Vlad King. I felt that this was for the better, as it further sets up a plot point for later. Another reviewer, Dawn over a Lily, said because Tooru's quirk is a mutation type, it most likely means she has been invisible since birth. I wrote her as having gotten it at the age of four. What do you think? Should I change it or keep it as is? I feel both have their emotional weight. It shouldn't affect the story that much (unless she does get revealed in the manga at some point) but wanted to see what you'll think about it.**

 **Man, this was a long author's note. I like to be open about with everything I can, and there was just a lot to say after finishing this chapter. Expect chapter ten it to be posted October 10th (for real this time)!**


	10. Turning Point

Chapter 10: Turning Point

The big day was here; it was Sunday morning which meant it was Tooru's sixteenth birthday.

Izuku had dressed in a white t-shirt with "All M" in big green text on its front and teal track pants with a white line going up and down the side of each leg. He also had a small white backpack that had his money and the brownies he had made in it. He was currently inside his apartment staring at the door that would take him outside. Inko had already served her son a hearty breakfast and wished him good luck. However, the younger Midoriya was having a terrible case of second thoughts as he stood there frozen.

After a minute had passed, Inko approached her child slowly from the side and said with care, "I guess you are quite nervous, huh?" The boy gave a weak nod but didn't turn his face towards his mother. She then softly put her hands on his shoulders before saying, "Remember that this day is for Hagakure-san. And if you overthink your date, as hard as I know it is for you not to, it won't help. So don't think about what you two might do today. Don't think about what could go wrong. All you need to do is be there by her side and go with whatever happens, within reason, okay?" She then put a finger under his chin and raised it up before asking, "Izuku, do you think you can do that?"

Izuku gulped and stated, "I'll t-try."

"That's my boy," Inko replied as she removed her hands and opened the door.

Instead of walking forward, Izuku turned to embrace his mother and said, "Thanks, mom, for everything."

"Just be safe and make your friend's birthday a special one," Inko replied while giving her son a tight hug.

The younger Midoriya then separated from her and gave a nod before finally stepping outside. As he slowly made his way to the train station, he recalled the study session from yesterday as a way to keep calm.

Instead of lecturing at the start like last Saturday, Momo decided to gauge everyone's grasp on English by talking to each of them in the language. Of all the subjects at school, Izuku felt this was his worst. He was still really good at it for his grade level, but he always had to spend the most time studying and practicing it compared to everything else. He quickly learned it was also Tooru's worst subject as she struggled to understand what Momo was saying and what to respond back to her. The vice president was practically fluent in English and so was Tenya. Ochako and Mashirao seemed quite good at it, with a couple of common mistakes here and there.

Yaoyorozu needed to work one on one with Hagakure, so she decided to do ask Ida to lead the next exercise. After explaining what to do to the class president, Momo pressed a button on the wall, and a large monitor came down from the ceiling. Momo then turned it on and switched it to a news channel in English. She said she chose this particular station as it had the least variety of accents in the newscast, which can be jarring when trying to become fluent in new a language. The group then listened in on the morning news, and anytime they had trouble understanding what was said, Ida would pause it and explain what they meant. The hardest point of this exercise was the speed at which the people talked. Uraraka especially regularly asked for certain sections to be replayed so she could catch up. Regardless, it was a worthwhile activity that Midoriya enjoyed. He considered maybe using this practice to watch hero-centric news in English. This activity and Tooru's private lesson with Momo lasted until it was lunchtime.

The meal served was unagi (grilled river eel with barbeque sauce) with a side of amaebi sushi (large raw sweet shrimp). Both were very sweet, and Izuku enjoyed the plumpness of the shrimp. Momo again gave a face of disappointment once the meal was revealed. Midoriya wanted to ask why but felt it would be better to ask her in private if the chance presented itself.

The lesson resumed with Momo handing out a paper that focused on the common mistakes made when speaking English and examples of each. These included: the emphasis of words, exceptions to rules, homophones, idioms, not always applicable interchangeability of synonyms, the order of words, and the words unique to the five different regional dialects of it. The group then went over these common mistakes one at a time, and Tooru seemed to learn a lot from it as she was showing decent improvement as the afternoon went on. Overall, Izuku was glad that the study session went without incident, unlike last time.

Midoriya's thoughts faded as he had arrived at the subway station just on time. For a few minutes, he watched as people would enter and exit the subway train. Just as the boy was starting to become anxious at the thought that something was holding up Tooru, he was almost thrown off balance as the girl in question hugged him from behind. She had wrapped her hands around his chest, just under his arms, and her breasts were pressing hard against his back.

In a playful voice, Hagakure asked, "Did I scare ya, Izuku?"

The boy weakly replied, "A-Almost outta my s-skin, Tooru."

With a giggle she let go, allowing Midoriya to turn around and get a good look at her. Tooru had on white cutoffs with a teal sweetheart neckline top and some white snap bracelets. She was also wearing a white backpack, though it was a bit larger than Izuku's. The invisible girl approached the boy and tugged at the bottom his shirt slightly before saying with a soft chuckle, "Could you be more of an All Might fanboy?"

"Well, there's another reason I wore this today," Midoriya stated as he scratched the back of his head.

Tooru was quick to grab his left hand and say, "Tell me after we catch the train, it's about to leave!"

The two then ran hand in hand with Izuku in tow as they headed for the doors. Once boarded, Midoriya sat down and put his backpack between his legs, but Hagakure decided to stand up instead and grab onto a nearby pole. This particular cab wasn't that crowded which allowed a bit of privacy for the two while they talked.

The green haired teen began the conversation by asking, "Is it possible to ask where we are heading? Or do you want it to be a surprise?"

Tooru replied with, "I guess telling you now wouldn't hurt. We're heading to the same place we met on our first date."

A bit taken back, Izuku stated, "I was expecting something different. Not that I have a problem with going back there."

Hagakure then explained, "Well, at first I didn't have a place a mind. When I actually had time to think about it, I remembered how much fun we had there last time. And it's familiar to both us. I thought since it was a place you could recognize you would be more comfortable. Plus it's nearby a place I've meant to visit for a long while. But besides that, I mean as cute as your reactions are when you panic, I don't wanna have you experience what happened when I asked you to come over to my place again."

"T-Thanks for considering my f-feelings about this Tooru," the boy said with a sigh of relief.

With glee, Hagakure replied, "No problem Izuku. This is so we can just focus on spending some quality time together."

Trying his luck, Midroiya asked, "Speaking of this quality time, is it too much to ask what we'll be doing as well?"

With a sly tone in her voice, Tooru answered with, "Being a bit bolder, are we? I like it. Anyways I plan for us to look at some shops, though I wanna buy a few things this time. I've got some other plans as well but that's a secret for now."

Upon hearing this, Izuku wondered, had he put too much thought into this date? All the stress that he been storing up for today was quickly fading away as Tooru described the location and plan for the day. Sure her "other plans" was ominous, but Midoriya wasn't gonna let it weigh him down. This feeling of weightlessness upon his mind and body was something he hadn't felt since he accepted doing this date, and like his mother told him, decided to accept whatever Tooru would come up with, within reason.

"I'd be okay with that," Midoriya said after finishing his thoughts.

Hagakure cheerfully replied, "Glad you're on board with everything. Now answer me this, what was the reason you wore those clothes today?"

While grabbing his shirt with one hand, Izuku responded with, "Well, they inspire a lot of confidence in me."

"Cause your shirt says All Might, I get it," Tooru said with assurance.

Shaking his head, Midoirya stated, "That's not why. I often wore these clothes when I trained before taking the entrance exam."

Hagakure was quick to say, "Regardless you wore these clothes cause you needed the confidence boost for today, right?"

"Pretty much," the boy said as a slight blush began to creep onto his face.

After a few moments of silence, the invisible girl asked another question, "What exactly was this training you did? You've never really talked about it."

After some quick thinking, Izuku blurted out, "O-Oh, well you know, w-weightlifting and r-running, a lot. The u-usual."

In a bit suspicious tone, she said, "And you discovered you had a quirk just by doing that?"

"Y-Yep," said a jittery Midoriya.

Continuing with her apprehensive tone, Tooru asked, "And how long did you do this?"

"A-About ten m-months," Izuku stated as he sank his head into his shoulders. He thought, was she starting to have doubts about the somewhat fabricated origin of his quirk?

Leaning forward towards Midoriya's face, Hagakure said, "Was this training you did before the entrance exam the first time you ever worked out for an extended period?"

This endless barrage of questions was getting the best of the green haired teen, but he answered with a weak nod.

About a minute of silence passed before Tooru spoke up by trying to explain, "I guess that is why you never manifested your quirk before. Your body just couldn't handle it. And even with almost year of working out, you couldn't use it without thrashing your body."

Internally Izuku was leaping around in happiness at Tooru only trying to understand his quirk better, not question its origin. In a more confident voice, Midoriya stated, "Pretty much."

The pair spent the rest of their trip discussing their second study session. Hagakure was quite pleased that Yaoyorozu was able to help her so much as she hated studying the subject of English on her own.

Once they had arrived at their destination, Tooru led Izuku past many buildings until eventually, they arrived at their first shop. The boy immediately recognized it; it was the toy store that the two had met at on their first date. As they entered Midoriya was met with the smell of fabric and cotton. He soon realized this store specialized in dolls and plushies both small and large. Hagakure made her way to the back, and Izuku followed. She was standing in front of a collection of bear plushies that were almost as big as she was. They were yellow and had a triangular head and limbs. The bears wore overalls and a neckerchief of various colors.

Tooru then spoke up, "I've been saving up for one of these for a while."

A bit intimidated at their size; the boy stated, "They look kind of big, don't you think?"

"That's why I want it silly. They're so big and fluffy," the invisible girl said as she hugged one.

And expensive, Izuku thought. He had a decent amount of cash on him at the moment. Including what he had saved from the last date, his allowance from the last couple of weeks, and his early birthday present, the boy had 18,000 yen. Was this giant stuffed toy the thing he was going to buy as her gift? Scratching his chin, Midoriya asked, "So which one are you planning on getting?"

"The one I'm holding of course," Hagakure said with joy. The bear in her arms had blue overalls with a red neckerchief.

The boy asked another question, "You're not thinking of buying this today, are you?"

With no hesitation, the invisible girl proclaimed, "Yep!"

Izuku tried to argue, "But it's huge! Do you plan to carry it for the rest of our d-date?" He hoped he wouldn't have to carry it. It was less about having to carry it and more about drawing attention to himself, which would be embarrassing.

Tooru then let go of the bear before saying, "Nah, I'm going to get it shipped to my house. I know I could have just called in or went online to buy it, but I like the feeling of going to a store to purchase things. Getting everything in a box delivered to your door just doesn't have the same feeling." Hagakure then turned towards Midoriya to say, "I'm going to look around a bit to see if they have anything new in stock. It should just take me a few minutes. You can look around if you like while you wait for me." She then made her exit to his right.

Izuku decided he would look around just to pass the time. Aisle after aisle the boy looked, not seeing anything of interest. He passed Tooru twice who was zipping through the aisles until he reached the last aisle, and there he finally saw something that caught his eye. In front of him were three rows of All Might plushies. They were the size of Midoriya's hand but what got his attention was their outfits. One wore All Might's debut costume, another his Golden Age attire, and the final one was in his current suit. They were a bit too cute for Izuku's usual taste, but their attention to detail was what won him over in the end. Each was priced at two thousand yen, and with all the money he had, he felt he could still possibly pay for Tooru's purchase.

Midoriya paid for the mini All Mights, and as he was about to put them in his backpack, Hagakure showed up. A bit surprised, the invisible girl proclaimed, "Oh wow you bought those? I thought you would only try and point them out to me before we left."

"I couldn't help myself I guess," Izuku said while scratching the back of his head.

Tooru then replied, "Well I'm glad you found something you wanted to purchase. I didn't find anything new for me to consider so I'll go ahead and pay for my item and we'll be off."

As the birthday girl talked to the cashier to order the bear plushie, Izuku grabbed the rest of his cash ready to pay for it.

The lady behind the counter said to Hagakure, "With shipping that should bring your total to 22,500 yen, ma'am."

Midoriya instantly shoved his money back into his backpack. As Tooru paid and gave her address for the delivery, Izuku thought, okay maybe I'll pay next time.

The two left the store, and the invisible girl was humming in happiness at her purchase.

The green haired teen asked, "So what do you want to buy now?"

With excitement, Hagakure answered, "Clothes!"

Again Tooru grabbed Izuku's left hand and led him to another store. Midoriya recognized it as the third place they had window shopped on their first date. He remembered his invisible friend's particular interest in looking at the dresses of the store. The boy's memory soon proved correct as he found himself in front of a sea of such clothing as Tooru began looking around. In their last date, the girl had thrown around so many clothing terms that Izuku couldn't keep up. She was always very vocal about what she was thinking at the moment when it came to clothing. This time around, he was getting a better grasp of what she was saying.

"I like this halter dress, but they are kinda pointless for me to wear because they are meant to expose your back, and I got nothing to show," Hagakure chuckled. Midoriya felt that this type of dress looked a bit too suggestive for his tastes. She then continued by saying, "I bet Yaoyorozu-san would like this though, she doesn't seem to have any problems showing a little skin."

Izuku always figured that Momo's leotard for a suit was so that it was easier for her to produce things for her quirk. It would help in reducing wardrobe malfunctions, he figured. Trying to better understand what she wanted, the boy asked, "What exactly are you looking for here?"

"Something to wear on our next date after our summer trip," Tooru said confidently but then sagged her shoulders before saying, "Well that's if I pass the exam."

Midoriya almost groaned but held it in. She was already planning on having another date, and here he was just trying to get through today's date. But her wanting to hang out again wasn't exactly bad news. It meant she was enjoying today, even though it was still early on.

Trying to reassure her, Izuku stated, "Don't worry. You are going to pass. These study sessions have been a big help even for me, so I'm sure it's done wonders for you."

"I hope so," the invisible girl huffed.

Trying to move to a different topic Midoriya asked, "So have you decided on anything yet?"

Hagakure replied, "I think so, but I wanna ask you what you like better." Izuku didn't like the sound of that but decided not to protest. She then walked forward and grabbed two different dresses. Tooru turned around and held them up for him to see before asking, "So any suggestions?" The first one was a dark blue and white apron dress and the other a white sundress with depictions of flowers in blue and red.

Midoriya sighed in relief internally, he thought she was gonna try them on and let him decide and was glad she was doing this instead. He liked the more conservative look of the apron dress but then considered the practicality of each dress. Izuku then explained, "I think the sundress would be a better choice. Mostly because I feel it would be more comfortable to wear during the summer compared to the other dress."

Hagakure hung up the apron dress and looked at the Midoriya's choice for a few moments before stating, "Your logic wins again Izuku. Thanks for helping."

The two then started to make their way to the front of the store to pay for the article of clothing. After passing a few aisles, Izuku could hear some younger girls chatting loudly in an aisle for cosmetics. From what he heard they were arguing over the price of the products. Tooru then gave a soft chuckle, "I'm glad I don't have to worry about makeup like most girls. Means I can focus on other things like clothes."

Midoriya was quick to state, "Cause of your quirk, right?"

The invisible heroine replied, "Yep, no need to keep up appearances if no one can even see it. Plus it would be embarrassing to have floating lipstick and other cosmetics on my face."

This topic interested the green haired teen, and he asked another question, "Is there anything else you don't have to worry about because of the nature of your quirk."

The two had arrived at the line for a cashier at this point. After a few moments of thought, Tooru answered, "My hair I guess. I can't remember the last time I needed to comb it."

Intrigued even further, Izuku asked, "What's your hair like?"

"If you're that interested why don't you feel it and find out," Tooru said mischievously. At this comment, a woman in front of them made a glance behind her to look at the two.

Midoriya was rapid to stutter in a low voice, "N-Not in a p-public place like this T-Tooru."

A bit disappointed at the last comment, Hagakure stated, "Okay then, maybe later."

The boy rubbed his temple as he tried to understand Tooru's wild suggestion. Was she serious? Or did she just wanna get a reaction out of him? How awkward would have it been if let himself feel her hair while in line? I would probably look like a pervert, he thought. But now he was very curious about the nature of her hair. Izuku only got a small hint of what it looked like during that one afternoon in the rain. The rain had collected on the top of her head and made somewhat of an outline for the top of her hair. It was impossible to tell what its length or style was.

Before Midoriya knew it, Hagakure had paid for her dress and was leading him outside of the store. He was so caught up and pondering about her hair he forgot to offer to pay for her dress. He didn't even pay attention enough to find out its price. Honestly, he should have checked it before they even got to the cashier.

For the next couple of stores, the pair merely window shopped. They were visiting stores they had skipped from their last date, but nothing in particular, seemed to interest the invisible girl. After they left a shoe store, Tooru checked her phone and then proclaimed, "Oh hey it's past noon already. You ready for some lunch?"

Now that she mentioned it, Izuku was a bit hungry, so he replied, "Yeah I could go for a bite. Where to?"

"It's a bit of a walk, so follow me," the birthday girl stated while grabbing his left hand.

For about ten minutes the two made their way towards an unknown location. Midoriya asked multiple times for some hint at where they were heading, but Hagakure simply said for him to be patient. She did take out her phone a few times to confirm if they were heading the right way. The boy could have tried to take a peek at their destination whenever she brought out her phone but decided that they would be there soon and it wasn't worth the backlash if he was caught. Finally, a park came into view, and the two entered.

Izuku wondered, was there some street cart here that served food? Tooru then suddenly veered off the main path and stopped at a bench not far from the turnoff.

The invisible girl took a seat and started reaching into her backpack. She took out some Tupperware before saying, "I thought today we could just have something a bit simple to eat." She pulled out some sandwiches from the containers before continuing, "I hope you don't mind some ham and pepper jack cheese sandwiches my mom made."

Izuku sat next to her before stating, "Sounds good to me. But I know something that would go great with this."

As her bracelets came up to her face, Tooru proclaimed, "You didn't!"

"I sure did," Midoriya happily replied as he pulled out the brownies from his backpack.

Hagakure asked with curiosity in her voice, "What's in these?"

The boy explained, "It has caramel of course but it's also got bits of coconut, and the nuts are pecan."

Sounding satisfied from the description; the invisible girl stated, "Sounds yummy."

The two ate their lunch with little interruption. Izuku made sure to bake enough so that Tooru could take some home, just as last time with the donuts. After she put them away in her pack, she asked, "So wanna have a feel of my hair?"

Midoriya had already forgotten about the offer; he was too busy enjoying Tooru's reaction to the treats. The boy groaned as he said, "Do I have to?"

"If you wanna find out what my hair is like then yes," Hagakure huffed.

Izuku looked around to make sure no one was looking. Since they were off the main path, there weren't that many people and no one was currently walking towards them. Curiosity was getting the best of him. After grunting, he replied, "F-Fine I'll do it." Midoriya raised his hands towards her face but paused before getting too close. Second thoughts were running rampant in his head already.

Hagakure was quick to say, "Here let me guide you." The boy felt the invisible girl's hands grasp his and led it towards the side of her head. Once he felt it, she let go and stated, "Go ahead Izuku."

The green haired teen first softly gripped her hair a few times, the texture was a bit rough. He then brought his hands down to behind her neck and noticed there was nothing there and instead was touching skin. Tooru giggled a bit at the touch of her neck, and Izuku quickly brought his hands off her.

The birthday girl then asked in a playful tone, "So, how was it?"

Still a bit stunned at what he had done and just learned, Midoriya took a few seconds before he replied, "I-I didn't expect your h-hair to be so s-short."

Tooru explained, "Long hair needs a lot of upkeep, and since mine can't be seen, there is little point to having it so long."

Izuku replied, "Must be hard to cut."

"It is, but my mom has gotten pretty good at it. Especially now that I like to keep it short," the invisible teen responded.

Intrigued, Izuku asked, "When did you start getting it cut so short?"

Hagakure needed a moment to think but eventually said, "Not long after I started school. I noticed most of the boys had short hair, and they never had to worry about it. I just told my parents one day that I wanted it short too, as I started to get annoyed at having to worry about mine all the time. My mom was against the idea, but my dad convinced her otherwise, eventually."

Midoriya was starting to get a bit of an idea of his friend's looks. Unkempt, short hair and no make-up, probably not the best sight, but it wouldn't be a look anyone would ever see, so did it really matter? Tooru might never get to see what she looks like again as her quirk didn't seem to have an off switch. The thought made him a bit somber because of her plight. He already had voiced his thoughts on his friend's lack of physical identity the first time they talked in the nurse's office. And he was feeling the same in this situation.

Tooru asked inquisitively, "So anything else?"

Her question broke Izuku's train of thought. The boy took a few moments to think up another question, and said, "Do you not use conditioner when you wash your hair?"

Hagakure responded bluntly with, "Nah. Again, no need to use it if my hair can't be seen."

"I mean your hair felt kind of rough. You don't need to use it each time you wash, but at least it would be a lot more soft to touch," the boy tried to explain.

With a bit of sass in her voice, Tooru responded, "Oh, so you want it to be soft. Is that cause you want to feel again in the future?"

Midoriya tried to say, "N-No, I j-just-."

The invisible girl put a finger on his lips to interrupt his rebuttal and said, "Again just teasing you Izuku. But maybe I'll take your advice to heart after I think about it some more." Hagakure then removed her finger and got up. She stated, "Well, I'm ready to continue with our day, you with me?" One of Tooru's wristbands came to Izuku's face, and he nodded before grabbing below her wristband to hold her hand and was pulled up.

The pair made their way out of the park and back to the mall area of the town. They resumed their window shopping but again nothing interested either of them. Midoriya did notice something as they walked around each store. Earlier he had seen the swimwear shop from the last date, the one Hagakure had teased about trying out some swimsuits. They kept passing it between each trip, and after the fifth time, he finally got the urge to ask while pointing to it, "Tooru do you wanna go here."

The invisible girl sighed as she stated, "Is it that obvious?" Izuku gave a slow nod, getting a small grunt from Tooru. She then said, "Yeah I wanna buy a new swimsuit because I recently found out I can't fit in my old one anymore." With disappointment in her voice Hagakure continued with, "But I really can't, so let's just move on."

Standing in front of his invisible friend, Midoriya asked, "Wait, why not?"

There was a pause before she replied, "I don't have the cash. I spent most of it on the bear plushie and sundress. I probably should have waited to buy the plushie."

Izuku was quick to proclaim, "I'll pay for it!"

Trying to say no, Tooru said, "Izuku you don't have to-."

For once the boy interrupted her and stated "I want to Tooru. As a gift."

The bewildered girl replied, "A gift? But weren't the brownies we had earlier already a gift?"

"It's your birthday Tooru; you deserve more than just some treats. I wanted to buy you something before coming here, but I couldn't think of anything. So I saved up some cash and decided I would just pay for something for you today. I was ready to buy that big plushie for you earlier until I heard about its price, cause that was a bit more than I had," Izuku explained.

Tooru asked, "Are you sure? You don't have to do this Izuku."

Giving multiple nods the boy responded, "I'm quite sure. Here." Midoriya reached into his backpack and pulled out all of his money.

Shocked at the amount she was given, Tooru stated, "Izuku I don't think I need this much."

"It's fine, spend as much or as little as you want. I don't need it," the green haired teen said as sincere as he could.

The birthday girl sighed before stating, "If you insist. But do you wanna come with me in there?"

Inko's words echoed through Izuku's head at that moment.

 _All you need to do is be there by her side today and go with whatever happens, within reason, okay?_

 _...within reason..._

Midoriya's heart was already doing laps at the thought of being surrounded by the female swimwear as Tooru possibly tried them on. He finally slowly stuttered out, "I-I'd prefer n-not to."

"That's fair; they are swimsuits. This might take a bit though, I haven't looked into getting a swimsuit for a while," Hagakure tried to explain.

Holding up his hands, Izuku said, "That's fine, take your time." He looked to his side and saw a bench by the building. The boy pointed at it as he continued, "I'll just take a seat over here while I wait."

As Tooru made her approach towards the store and Izuku plopped down onto the bench. He exhaled loudly once she was out of sight and closed his eyes as he laid back. Midoriya wished he could have followed her into such a store. But naughty thoughts kept plaguing his mind at the mere thought of it. The boy sometimes hated being a teenager, with his hormones running amok in his head. At least it wouldn't last forever, right?

As Izuku waited, he pondered on ways to minimize such thoughts so that he could handle future situations such as this. As he racked his brains, a revelation eventually crept into his mind. Wait a second, isn't looking at clothes on a hanger just like if Tooru was wearing it? Sure it would be floating and be filled instead of flat, but it still held true. And it's like Tooru said earlier about the halter dress.

 _I like this halter dress, but they are kinda pointless for me to wear because they are meant to expose your back, and I got nothing to show._

Since she had no skin to show, what was the point of getting so worked up about it? Sure, her being nude meant there was nothing at all, and it was the principle of her being naked that made Midoriya uncomfortable. But this was different; she was still wearing something. The thought of her in a bikini did make him a bit uncomfortable at the moment, but since thinking this all over, he felt he could handle such a thing. With a rise in confidence Izuku stood up and opened his eyes ready to enter the store but what he soon saw in front of him made his jaw drop.

Standing in front of him was none other than Shota Aizawa, dressed as he always did at school. In a bored voice, his homeroom teacher stated, "Glad you finally noticed me Midoriya-san. Mind if I take a seat?"

Trying to keep his composure the green haired teen replied, "A-Aizawa-sensei? W-What are y-you doing h-here? And how l-long have you been s-standing here?

Slightly annoyed, the man replied, "I'm the one who asked a question first here, don't be rude, it's not like you."

Shaking his hands a bit to calm himself, Izuku responded with, "O-Of course sensei, take a seat."

"Thank you," Eraserhead said in his usual deadpan voice as he sat down. Midoriya then joined him and looked at his teacher in confusion. Shota then continued, "Now to answer your question; I'm here because I live nearby. I saw the pair of you about an hour ago and have been following you ever since. Once you two separated and you sat down, I approached and stood here for about a minute. I thought you were sleeping for a bit, and I almost wanted to sit down next to you to jolt you awake, but then you stood up and now here we are."

Even more perplexed, Midoriya said, "You live in a place like this?" Izuku knew that his teacher disliked public displays when he was out on patrol. Such a busy environment seemed very out of place for such a person to live.

"Yep. No one would expect me to live in such a lively place like this. Keeps people away and guessing," Aizawa stated as he rose his arms towards the crowds of people in front of him.

The boy asked, "Then why are you telling me?"

"Because you're not dumb, and you know what would happen if I found out you told anybody," Aizawa said as he turned slowly with a creepy smirk. This sent a chill down Izuku's spine but before he could say anything his homeroom teacher asked, "So, how's your day been with Hagakure-san?"

After exhaling, Izuku responded, "P-Pretty good, I guess. It's her birthday today, and I thought I would celebrate it with her."

Eraserhead shot him a finger as he stated, "Then why are you out here alone?"

Midoriya said, "O-Oh, well she's currently shopping for a s-swimsuit."

Not impressed with the answer, the teacher replied, "And?"

Izuku tried to explain, "Well at first it made me uncomfortable, but I did decide to go in there when I stood up earlier, that is until I saw you."

"I see. Sorry to say this but I need you to stay here a while," Shota said while adjusting himself on the bench to get more comfortable.

A bit apprehensive, the boy asked, "W-What for?"

"Just gotta ask a question," Aizawa said lazily.

Midoriya thought, was he in trouble? Was dating against the school code? He knew some hero academy forbade it but never heard U.A. banning it. Either way, it would be for the best to comply with his teacher, so he stated, "If you must sensei."

Crossing his arms, Eraserhead replied, "Good. Now, what was your reason for coming out here last time?

Izuku then asked, "Last time?"

"Yes, when you were with your two other friends," the teacher said while holding up a peace sign.

Finally getting what he meant, the boy responded, "Oh, that. We were just on a double d-date."

A small grunt came from the man as he stated, "And is that all? Did you notice anything off about Ida-san and Uraraka-san?"

A bit confounded at these questions, Midoriya said, "Yes, sir that's all it was. They both only came to help support me since I was having trouble with the whole idea of being alone with Hagakure-chan." He then took a deep breath before asking, "Is there an issue with what we did sensei?"

In a bit more serious tone, Aizawa explained, "I'm not inclined to answer that in detail but let's say at the time I just found this all suspicious. Especially after those two kept coming back here."

This last comment got Izuku's interest, and he asked, "Wait how many times have you seen Ida-kun and Uraraka-chan together here after our double d-date?"

"Twice, and it might have been more but I just didn't run into them. Regardless, it seems I over thought this situation. I guess my students were just enjoying each other's company," Shota stated in aloof tone.

Silence followed for a few moments before the green haired teen asked another question, "If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing while we were sitting at the curry cafe?"

The teacher poked his forehead a few times before explaining, "Oh, that? I was thinking of getting some sunglasses at the time. Because my wounds from the villain invasion were still unhealed and the specifics of my quirk, bright lights were painful for my eyes during that period. I didn't want to wear my signature goggles, as it would just alert people to who I was when out and about in public. I considered getting a pair of sunglasses at that store since it was nearby, but then I realized how stupid I would look in them. As I left is when I noticed you four watching me in the distance."

"Sorry, that it seemed like we were suspicious Aizawa-sensei," the boy said as he tried to apologize.

Waving a hand slowly, Eraserhead replied, "It's fine. I just wanted to figure this all out once and for all. You being by yourself made things easier. Your other friends never separated on their dates."

The two sat there for a minute and watched as people walked by. Izuku eventually worked up the courage to ask, "We're not in trouble because we've been d-dating, are we?"

Shota got up as he stated, "Midoriya-san it's fine if you're dating a fellow student, as long as it doesn't interfere with either of your grades or hero work." He then turned around and further explained with seriousness, "Hagakure-san's grades have been rising slightly since I noticed you two interacting with one another. And I think I know who she has to thank for that."

Midoriya tried to say, "Well, actually we've been-."

Aizawa held up a hand before interrupting, "No buts. You've been a positive influence on her, even if indirectly. The same goes for your two other friends. You kids in 1-A have gone through a lot these last few months, more than a typical semester at U.A. should be. We all have different ways of handling stress, and this seems to be your way of dealing with it. So as things are now, this doesn't bother me."

Eraserhead took a few steps forward but stopped and said, "Be sure to keep today's conversation just between us Midoriya-san. See you in class tomorrow." He then walked forward and eventually disappeared into the crowd.

Izuku then took a couple of deep breaths while trying to wrap his head around what just happened. He thought, what the heck was that about? What suspicious activities did his teacher assume he and his friends were doing? Was Eraserhead just overthinking everything, just as often as Izuku did? No, he also seemed more level headed than he was. So for him to go this far into trying to figure out what they were doing meant the subject matter was very grave. But what could that be?

A slight cough brought Izuku's attention to his side. Tooru was standing next to him and said with concern in her voice, "You were muttering again, everything alright?"

Midoriya explained, "Y-Yeah, just overthinking about things, a-again. Did you find anything that interested you?"

"I did, and it's in my backpack," Hagakure said as she put a hand in her pocket. She then gave the boy some cash and stated, "And here's what's leftover of your money, I only spent about seven thousand yen."

Izuku didn't bother to check what was left as he put the money back into his backpack, he trusted her. After zipping up his pack, Midoriya asked, "So where to next?"

The invisible teen gave a long sigh before saying, "To be honest, I think I've done enough shopping for today. I got one more place I want to go through, but again, it's gonna be a bit of a walk to get there."

Midoriya then asked, "I guess you want this to be a surprise like going to the park?"

"Yeah," Tooru stated as she grabbed the boy's left hand.

Izuku tightened his grip and said with full confidence, "Alright, let's go then."

A bit taken back, the invisible girl replied, "What? You're not gonna ask me where we are going?"

"I couldn't get you to say anything last time, plus if it's anything like before, then I think I can handle it," Midoriya explained.

Overjoyed at his enthusiasm, Hagakure proclaimed, "Alright then! To the final location!"

Tooru wasn't kidding about it being quite a walk, after twenty minutes Izuku was able to see where they were heading to in the distance. They were currently walking on a hill overlooking the vast of blue ahead of them; it was the ocean. As they approached he wondered if his friend intended to try her new swimsuit here and now, but it seemed not likely once he pondered more about it. Usually, one washes newly bought clothes before using them.

As they got closer, the area looked more and more familiar to Midoriya. He couldn't put his finger on why.

The pair crossed the final street and walked through some dense trees before standing on the concrete barrier before the beach. There was a decent amount of people swimming and sunbathing in the early summer sun.

Tooru happily said, "It's so nice to see this place spotless and with people again after so long."

Izuku looked back and forth, and it finally came to him where he was. With a mix confusion and excitement, he proclaimed, "This is Dagobah Beach?!" It was where he had trained in order to be able to handle One for All. To think he could have already forgotten about the place in such a short amount of time. The boy was just here back at the start of March to meet with All Might when he had learned he had passed the entrance exam.

A bit taken back, Hagakure asked, "Wait you know of this beach?"

Midoriya felt he had to tell the partial truth at least and replied, "Yeah, it's where I did my training for the U.A. entrance exam."

Confusion in her tone, Tooru said, "What? This place was a dump for years until recently. Why would you come here of all places?"

Wrestling with about whether to hide the truth or not, the boy eventually blurted out, "W-Well, I was the one who cleaned it up."

"You're joking, right? That's impossible to have done it by yourself," Tooru argued.

Trying to give more credibility to his claim, Midoriya responded, "I-I wasn't a-alone. I-I had h-help."

The invisible teen then asked, "From who?"

This is where Izuku had to draw the line. He couldn't reveal it was All Might, no matter what. Instead, he slowly stuttered, "M-My u-uncle."

Tooru was quick to ask another question, "And how did your uncle help with all of this?"

The green haired teen too a few breaths before explaining, "I would drag trash to his truck, and he would drive it to the local dump."

Hagakure, still with a perplexed voice stated, "I'm still having trouble believing this."

The two remained silent as they both tried to think of something to say.

Midoriya spoke up first by asking, "So, how do you know of this place?"

"I used to come here with my family all the time to swim during the summer. I've had some great memories here as a kid. But then it got trashed, and we stopped coming. I heard it got cleaned up some months ago and wanted to come and see it for myself once summer came around again. And I wanted to show it to you cause I want us both to come here sometime during our summer break to make more memories," Tooru explained with melancholy.

Izuku took a few moments to let her words sink in before replying, "I see. Sorry if it sounds absurd if I cleaned this place up, but I truly did. It took me the full ten months of my training to do it. Almost every day I was here hauling loads of junk off this beach. And when I wasn't here I ran my heart out to focus on my leg muscles."

More calmly than before, the female said, "Ok, even if what you're saying is true, then why did you come here of all places?"

Izuku thought back to the words All Might had told him the first day of his training; they were etched into his soul. Almost word for word at like his mentor said back then, the boy stated, "So many heroes today only want fame and glory. But being a true hero is all about volunteer work." Midoriya exhaled a bit before continuing, "To tell you the truth I never came here before my training, but I knew of its existence and why it had become so trashy. My uncle and I wanted to bring back this beach's beautiful ocean view because it was the right thing to do."

Tooru stood there not saying a word after everything Izuku had said for a few moments. She then suddenly started to walk down some stairs towards the beach.

Midoriya raised his voice as he followed, "Wait! Where are you going?" Once he had his feet on the sand, he turned to see his friend leaning on the barrier.

The birthday girl stated with softness, "You really know how to woo people Izuku."

Midoriya sighed in relief; he thought Hagakure was still angry at him.

Tooru then said with difficulty, "I never expected to ask this today. I thought I would just see how things went and go from there."

Not following what she meant, Izuku stated, "Ask me what?"

Tooru exhaled before asking gradually, "Izuku, would you like to be my boyfriend?"

Midoriya knees buckled at her question, and he fell on his behind.

Tooru was quick to come to his side and knelt down before saying, "Woah there take it easy. I know that's a lot to process."

"J-Just give m-me some t-time to t-think," the quivering boy said as he scooted backward through the sand and laid his back on the barrier. Hagakure then sat down where she had kneeled and took off her backpack. Midoriya did the same and tried to calm down by breathing deeply. The big question had been asked, and it wouldn't have if he had just kept quiet to her about cleaning up the beach. But in the end maybe this was for the best, as Izuku honestly hated lying, even the half-truths he told were still hard to swallow. But he needed to focus on Tooru's proposal. Of course, she had to be one to ask, Midoriya didn't dare to try such a feat anytime soon. But that didn't matter; he needed to answer.

Trying to buy more time to think, Izuku asked, "W-What do you see in m-me that makes me b-boyfriend material?"

The invisible girl shifted in her position in the sand before explaining, "What do you want me to say? Something boring like how you're brilliant, heroic, or how cute your antics are? I mean those are excellent qualities and all, but there's so much more to you than just that."

This threw off Midoriya's train of thought, and instead of pondering an answer to the whole situation, he had his full attention on Tooru now.

Hagakure continued with, "Sure what you said earlier inspired me to ask today instead of on another date, but there's something about you that no one else has done around me that convinced me that you'd be the one I would eventually ask to be my boyfriend."

Izuku was slow to ask, "And what p-part of m-me is that?"

"It's how you interact with me, despite the nature of my quirk," the birthday girl replied softly.

Midoriya could only give a perplexing look as he tried to understand what she meant.

Hagakure explained with merry in her voice, "When most people talk to me about my quirk, it's usually about how it could be useful in both heroic and everyday things. No one asks how it changes my lifestyle compared to most everyone else. But you felt sad because of me not being able to know how I look, you noticed and asked about my underwear situation, and today you were curious about my hair and even went as far as to feel it to know more."

Izuku mulled over everything his friend said as she stayed silent for a minute. Sure the bit referring to her lack of panties when wearing a skirt did make him blush, but regardless everything she said was entirely accurate. But he felt bad that he was the only one that would ask such questions.

Tooru cleared her throat before continuing her explanation, "Then there's how you look at me physically. Most guys just stare at my boobs, I mean I can understand, I don't have a face they can focus on. Even Ida-san and Ojiro-san are guilty of this sometimes, but I don't make a fuss about it since everyone does it. But Izuku, you almost always look at my face, even though you can't see anything. To me, that means you see me with respect and acknowledge there's something worthwhile there to look at."

Midoriya was floored by this statement. He thought he was just being considerate by always keeping his eyes towards where Hagakure's face would be, never did he expect she saw that as such an honorable quality as she just described. Her explanations did tell the green haired teen that her question wasn't on a whim, it was a big deal for her.

Tooru then inched closer towards the pondering Izuku, which made his heart and mind start to race. She then put her hands on his shoulders and stated, "So what's your answer Izuku, I want, no, I have to know!"

Izuku continued to stare into where Tooru's eyes would be if she were visible. A part of him was saying no, merely on the basis of the stress it would bring. But a much bigger part was thinking the opposite. She wanted an answer so badly, and he wanted to please her the best he could after everything she just revealed. Midoriya's eyes started to water as he worked up the courage to answer. After a sniff, he stated, "I-I w-would g-give anything to m-make you h-happy Tooru. S-So my a-answer is y-yes." Once he finished, tears started to flow.

Hagakure chuckled before replying, "Still a crybaby even after saying something so wonderful, that's the Izuku I know and love." She started to lean her body towards the green haired teen. In a panic, the boy closed his eyes expecting the worst. He felt her grab his shoulders and braced for what was about to come. But instead, the green haired teen felt a wet peck on his forehead. He opened his eyes in shock; he was expecting a kiss on his lips, not his temple. That wasn't so bad, Midoriya thought, despite being as red as a tomato. Tooru then took her hands off from his shoulders and leaned back to her previous sitting position.

Izuku began to wipe his tears away as he said, "I-I guess this m-means I kind of got you t-three gifts today, huh?"

"I think us becoming a couple is a gift for both of us silly," the birthday girl giggled.

* * *

 **So there you have it, the pairing is officially a couple now. It only took ten chapters and over 75,000 words to get to this point (cutting out all my author note rants). *cackles like a madman***

 **As mentioned in earlier author notes, I like to read slow burn relationships in fics. So, of course, I was going to write one as well. Originally, a part of me wanted to wait until after the Katsuki rescue arc for them to get together, but I felt the aftermath of that arc would better serve as an obstacle for them to have overcome together. And with all the baggage that arc brings, it didn't seem practical for Izuku to be stable enough to want to start a relationship with Tooru at that point. Plus I'm sure you readers are quite thirsty for 'advanced fluff scenarios' between the pair. So here's your bone. SAVOR IT!**

 **Finally got to use Eraserhead again, though last time was forever ago in chapter four and he just as a cameo. We'll be seeing more of him a lot more in the future once the secondary theme of this fic kicks in. I plan for him to work with All Might eventually, as I like their conflicting personalities of logic vs. justice. But again, it's going to be some time till we get to that point in this story.**

 **At first, I went with English localization of Dagobah Beach, which was Takoba Beach. After a couple of chapters, I switched back to the original as it was a lot more ionic because of it's reference to Star Wars, the planet where Luke trained with Yoda.** **Though the full name is the Dagobah Municipal Beach Park, and that's kind of a mouth full.**

 **If you didn't get the reference, the giant bear plushy Tooru bought was the one on her bed when the students were showing off their dorm rooms in chapter 99 of the manga. The colors of it are made up and will be adjusted when season three of the anime airs (It just got confirmed, and I feel they'll end season 3 with the Deku vs. Kacchan round 2). We never got a good look at all the all figures of All Might that Izuku had in his room, so I'm just going to go with that the small ones we see in chapter 98 are the ones he bought this chapter as well.**

 **As short as the summary was about the second study session, it felt a bit ironic. To discuss studying English between Japanese kids, in a story that is originally Japanese translated into English, and this fic is in English, but of course, they are speaking Japanese (hence why I prefer that I keep the honorifics in, even though I know some people prefer they weren't). ;p**

 **Chapter eleven will be about the date's aftermath, the third study session, and another group activity I want the group to experience. Expect to see it on October 16th!**


	11. A New Frontier

Chapter 11: A New Frontier

A long and loud sigh broke the silence of a dark room.

It was 2 AM in the Midoriya household. Izuku while exhausted, wasn't able to sleep. It wasn't because of the stress of "increased physical contact" like the night after he agreed to his second date. When Tooru kissed him just hours earlier on the forehead, it signaled to him that he didn't need to worry about her rushing things. Had she opted for the alternative place to kiss, things might have been different, but she chose otherwise. It had felt good, and more of those wouldn't be so bad. No, what was keeping him up was how excited he was for the future. Midoriya compared it to the night before going to his first day of school at U.A. The anticipation of what was to come; it made him restless no matter how much he wanted to sleep.

Izuku now had a girlfriend. Not just a best friend, but something more. He still couldn't believe he went from being without a single friend before starting school to where he was now. Midoriya had fought hard to keep back tears many times today from the happiness he was feeling. Sometimes he couldn't, but they were tears of joy so he wasn't too bothered by it.

The thought of telling his friends didn't bother Izuku that much, which he found surprising at first. Perhaps he was changing for the better socially because of Tooru, as Ochako had said the other day. Sure Midoriya had some jitters, but he felt he could handle it. He was, however, glad no one had asked on the group chat about the events of Tooru's birthday today because he was too overwhelmed to deal with it at the moment. The green haired teen was willing to tell them in person on Monday though.

And speaking of Izuku telling people of his new girlfriend, revealing it to his mother was quite an experience. She was waiting at the door when her son got home, tea in hand. He had told her by text he was on his way home when he got on the train, so that explained how she was ready for his arrival. Inko had asked on the phone how it went, and her son replied he'd tell her when he got back.

As the younger Midoriya sat down on the sofa after he arrived, he looked at his mother's face, and it gave the impression of eagerness but also of turmoil. He figured that he should start at the beginning. Minus leaving out the details on Eraserhead's surprise visit, Izuku was sure not to leave anything out as he explained the events of the day. Inko knew about her son's trips to the beach to train during the time before he entered U.A., but she never heard about the specifics of what he did. As a cover for All Might, the teen explained that a local to the area had helped him move the trash via truck.

To learn of his feats and how it lead to Tooru confessing earlier than she had planned was overwhelming for the older Midoriya. Izuku knew his mom cried a lot, he was used to it, as it's what he did a lot as well. When she said that she fainted from dehydration from crying too much while watching the Hero Festival, he believed her. But that evening was a new a side of bawling he hadn't seen before from his mother. They were tears of joy. Sure the younger Midoriya had seen a few tears of happiness when his mom was getting him ready for his first day of hero school, and she had bawled extensively when he revealed he had obtained a quirk, though that was more concern than joy. The teen was used to seeing her cry out of sadness or worry. Like when he was told he was quirkless, or when he came home with bruises from bullying and more recently his injuries from using his quirk, or sometimes when the subject of his father came up. That was the norm. This time, however, he had to embrace his mom for quite some time for her to calm down after revealing the results of Tooru's confession. Inko was just so overjoyed for her son to find such positive companionship in such a short amount of time after attending the hero academy. After everything Izuku had to endure growing up, to have another person he could rely on finally, it was just a lot for the mother to take in.

After she had calmed down, Inko asked if her son would invite Tooru over once more sometime soon. The younger Midoriya was quick to say yes, he guessed she wanted to talk with Hagakure. The two females had only exchanged hellos, goodbyes, and two hugs up to this point. It made sense that his mother would want to interact with his new girlfriend. Izuku didn't want the next visit to be the last two, which was just them talking in his room. Sure he had enjoyed their chats, but this would be Tooru's third visit, and their relationship was now at a new level.

Thinking about what to do was keeping him up, as the possible scenarios excited him. Finally, not long after noticing that it was 3 AM, a plan started to form in Midoriya's mind. After mulling over the details of it for a bit, sleep took over when the plan satisfied him.

* * *

Walking to school Monday morning, Izuku felt a bit groggy. Only a couple hours of sleep again. He could have waited to think up a plan for Tooru's next visit, but his eagerness from the night before got the best of him. Midoriya planned to reveal his new relationship status with Hagakure amongst his friends first then ask her on another date after school. As he walked inside the school grounds, he saw Mashirao talking to Koji on a nearby bench, the same one as last time.

Ojiro noticed the green haired teen's presence as he approached and said, "Morning Midoriya-kun."

Izuku replied, "Morning guys. You cheering up Koda-san again?"

Nodding the tailed teen stated, "Yep. I've been trying to convince him to come to my place so we can study together."

Koji was quick to shake his head and hands in response.

Mashirao sighed before saying, "But as you can see that's not happening." He then turned to his large friend and said, "You used to come to my house all the time when we were in middle school, what changed?"

Koda just poked his two index fingers together not saying a thing.

The tailed teen then asked, "If I copy my notes from the study sessions I've been having with Yaoyorozu-san, will you use them?"

Koji closed his eyes as he thought about the offer, but eventually opened them and gave a thumbs up.

Getting up, Ojiro stated, "Good, I'll get them copied and have them for you tomorrow."

The three teens then made their way towards class, with Izuku and Mashirao side by side with Koji just behind the pair. Ojiro gave a slight grin after having taken a couple steps and said, "So how was yesterday?"

"I'll give you the full details at lunch," Izuku stated sternly.

This comment only widened the tailed teen's grin as he said, "Ah, so one of you confessed to the other. That's good to hear."

Trying to hold it together, Midoriya responded, "W-Wait, what makes you s-say that?"

Pointing at his friend's face, Mashirao replied, "You're looking to be in a particularly good mood this morning despite the bags under your eyes. Plus, you wanting to wait until lunch to tell me about it? I figure that means you wanna tell everyone at the table else about it, so obviously, you're gonna announce good news about yesterday."

With a defeated tone in his voice, Izuku asked, "Am I that easy to read?"

"Nah, I'm just that good at this sort of thing," Ojiro stated proudly. He then gave a decent slap to Midroiya's back as he said, "Regardless, good job buddy. You finally got your girl."

The teens were just a hallway away from class, but a soft voice from behind the pair made the two stop and turn slowly. "I aspire that your rapport with Hagakure-san is vigorous and protracted." It was Koji. It was the first time Izuku had ever heard his voice. The voice was bit raspy as if he needed water, but Midoriya figured it was because he talked so little.

Putting a hand on the large teen's shoulder, Mashirao stated, "That's a very kind thing for you to say Koda-san." The tailed teen then darted his eyes to Izuku and then with the emphasis on his free hand, pointed from below his waistline towards Koji.

Oh, he wants me to encourage Koda's behavior, Midoriya thought. Getting the point, he said, "Yes, thank you Koda-san. I'll be sure to make Hagakure-san happy."

After giving a slow nod, Koji then walked past the two to get to class.

As Izuku watched Koda put distance between the pair, he asked, "What just happened?"

"I told you he could speak, it just isn't very often," Ojiro said as he shrugged.

Turning to his tailed friend Midoriya asked with more emphasis, "Yes, that I understand, but why now?

Mashirao closed his eyes and crossed his arms as he thought for a moment. Eventually, he pointed upwards after opening his eyes and explained, "Koda-san likes cute things. Like a lot. He probably sees you and Hagakure-san together as a cute couple. Hence him wishing you luck with her."

The green haired teen asked another question, "But how would he know we look cute together? He hasn't seen us interact outside of school."

More time passed as the tailed teen thought of an answer. "Since he doesn't speak, he reads more into things by observing. Even subtle body language probably speaks volumes to him about a person. He probably learned more than enough about you two just from your small interactions in-between classes, even considering Hagakure-san's quirk," the tailed teen explained with care in his voice.

"That's amazing," Izuku said with wonder in his voice.

Ojiro quickly replied, "I know right? It took me some months to see this habit of his in our last school. If he wasn't so nervous about everything I betcha he'd be a great hero if he put such an emphasis into his hero work. But fixing this kind of problem will take time I suppose."

Koji reminded Izuku of himself before he met Tooru. Of being socially awkward and letting it hinder his potential as a person, and eventually as a potential hero. Of course, Midoriya's social standing with others was nowhere near as low as Koda's as he refused to speak most of the time, but he could still relate to the large teen's problems. He then felt determined that at some point he wanted to help Koji with his issues. He was a pal of Mashirao's, and it just seemed like the right thing to do anyway. Izuku considered helping him during the summer camp training.

The pair arrived at their classroom and Midoriya breathed deeply. Just have to get through morning classes, then comes the reveal, he thought.

* * *

Before Izuku knew it, it was lunchtime. He made sure that he and Tooru were the last ones to arrive at the lunch table. The green haired teen told her as they left the classroom after the bell his plan. Hagakure was quick to agree and made sure to follow her new boyfriend in the lunch line. The two waited a bit for Momo, the last one not at the table, to arrive before making their approach.

The pair then sat down, and Izuku slowly made the announcement. Tenya was quick to vigorously shake his hands to congratulate him, Ochako was on the verge of tears, Momo gave a soft squeal of glee, and Mashirao just kept a sly grin on his face since he had already figured it out that morning which annoyed Tooru.

Once Uraraka had calmed down she asked for the details of the date. Before Midoriya could respond, Hagakure said that she'd explain it later to her. Yaoyorozu also stated her interest in the subject, but she too was shot down by the invisible girl. She explained that it felt too personal to discuss over lunch and asked Izuku to not say anything as well for now. The green haired teen found this odd, as Tooru was usually quite open about such things with her friends. While it would have been embarrassing to him, he wouldn't have said no if they had asked him to explain how their day went.

Before the end of lunch, while everyone else was distracted by their chats, Izuku whispered to Tooru, "Hey do you mind meeting me after school too so we can talk?"

She answered back in a low voice, "Is everything alright?"

Midoriya gave a quick nod before saying, "Yeah, I just wanna propose an idea to you. And this isn't exactly the time or place to ask such a question."

Hagakure finished her drink before responding, "Okay, let's met under that pretty tree like the last time we had a chat." The boy remembered back to that day, which was a week after their first date. It was then that he found out her logic behind having their initial meeting at the table they were currently sitting at and had suggested to her the wearing of bracelets to better understand her body language in particular attire. He agreed and mentally prepared himself for what was going to happen soon.

* * *

Izuku was again the first to arrive at the bench. As he and Tooru left class 1-A, his girlfriend said she needed to quickly use the bathroom and asked him to go on ahead. Again the shade of the Japanese maple tree was appreciated as Midoriya sat down. Summer was in full swing now, and the teen could see the dark red samara fruits on the tree were almost fully grown. After making this observation Midoriya instead turned his thoughts to the task at hand. He replayed the main points of his plan over and over in his head, so when the time came, he could easily tell it to Hagakure.

After a few minutes passed, Tooru came into view. Once she arrived and sat down, the invisible girl asked, "So what's this idea you wanna propose to me Izuku?"

"Well, I thought we could do something different together since we are a couple now," Izuku said with confidence.

Tooru leaned towards her boyfriend and said with sass, "Look at you trying to be in the lead for once." She then gave a short giggle before asking, "So what are you suggesting we try?"

After taking a deep breath, Midoriya asked, "Would you like to work out with me this Friday?"

Hagakure seemed to be taken aback by this and said, "Izuku I don't think I would be able to keep up with you in your type of training. Your quirk seems like the type that just requires you to lift heavy weights and stuff. That's kind of not my thing."

Izuku shook his head and replied, "I do more than just that, but only during the week. I only plan for us to jog together because I usually take a break from training on the weekend so I wanna keep it light."

Tooru remained silent for a bit as she pondered about the proposal.

To further entice his girlfriend to the idea, the green haired teen stated, "We could then come over to my place and have dinner after the run if that's okay with you."

With immediate interest, the invisible girl asked, "Are sure you're okay with me staying over for so long?"

"Totally. I thought this would be something interesting for us to try and do together," the green haired teen stated with a smile.

Now with a cheerful tone in her voice Hagakure said, "Sounds fantastic. But you could have asked me this at lunch you know."

"I guess I could have, but after seeing your reaction to the girl's requests to know the specifics about our date I thought you wouldn't be in the mood for them to gossip about my proposal if they heard about it," Izuku tried to explain.

"Oh, that's different. It would have been embarrassing to talk about our date in front of the other boys, especially that teaser Ojiro-san. I do want to tell the girls though. It might inspire Uraraka-san to be more bold with Ida-san," Tooru said with her last comment being in a mischevious tone.

Midoriya gave an awkward chuckle as he stated, "Wouldn't that be something?"

Hagakure, however, remained silent as she leaned back on the bench more.

The boy was compelled to ask, "What are you thinking about?"

"Trying to figure out how I can tell the girls without the presence of the guys. The only idea I currently have would be in the locker room, but the time we spend there is too short to discuss everything I want to say, and I don't want the other girl's in our class to listen in. Ashido-san is usually a wonderful person to be around but she can be such a pain sometimes when she prods Uraraka-san and me with questions," the invisible girl huffed in frustration.

As Tooru continued to ponder her possibilities, Izuku too began to brainstorm as well. As he thought of scenarios, he found the idea that she wanted to keep their status as a couple a secret to the other females in his class besides his close friends was comforting. A few minutes passed of pondering before he proclaimed, "Why not a sleepover between you girls? That should give you plenty of time to explain our date and give you a great opportunity to further bond with them as well."

Hagakure raised her arms in excitement as she replied, "That sounds perfect! Thanks, Izuku." She then hugged her boyfriend, and lucky for him they were at the far edge of the campus, so no one was around. Midoriya returned the embrace, and the two stayed together for about a minute before Tooru moved to separate. She then apologized, "Sorry, I know you probably want to keep this relationship on the low outside our main group of friends. I should have controlled myself."

"It's fine, there isn't anyone out here after school hours," the green haired teen stated as he tried to reassure her.

Still, with concern in her voice, the invisible girl replied, "Yeah, but what if someone did see us?"

Scratching the back of his head, Midoriya responded with, "Well, I guess if word ever got out then class tomorrow would definitely be i-interesting."

With a confused voice, Hagakure said, "Sounds like you would be okay with it. Sorry, that just sounds odd coming from you Izuku."

Midoriya explained, "I'd be stressing out for certain, but I think for the most part our classmates would be supportive of us minus a few exceptions."

"Firecracker and that perverted purple blob probably," Hagakure said bluntly.

Again after giving a shaky chuckle, Izuku stated, "Well, I think Mineta-san would probably just be jealous. And Kacchan either wouldn't care or-". He stopped his sentence as he started to really think about. What would Bakugo do if he found out about his relationship with Tooru? Not being bothered seemed like a typical reaction, but would he be angry? Well, he was always angry but would this fact make him more than usual. Midoriya's relationship with Hagakure wouldn't impede with Bakugo's aim to be the number one hero, so why would he care? But the possibility of his childhood friend, as the person he now loathed, being the first in class to have a girlfriend might get to the explosive quirk user. Being number one in everything was his schtick, after all, so even this might bother him.

Before Izuku could continue pondering this subject he felt a poke on his cheek. The source of the jab asked, "You're muttering at light speed. What gives?"

Midoriya cupped his hands over the hand Hagakure used to poke him with as he said, "S-Sorry, I was just contemplating the possible reactions Kacchan would have if he ever found out."

Tooru quickly pulled her hand from the green haired teen's and proclaimed, "Why are you worried what he thinks? Screw his feelings on the feelings that we share."

A bit startled by her physical reaction Izuku tried to explain, "He's still a classmate of ours and like it or not, it concerns me what he might do since there's a possibility it could be negative, for both of us."

"Ignoring whatever he does is what I'll do, that's for sure. Even if he congratulated us, which I know he won't cause he's an asshole," Hagakure said with agitation in her voice.

Midoriya gave a long sigh before stating, "Either way, let's just keep us under wraps for now. And if we get found out we get found out, as a-awkward as that would be."

"If you say so," Tooru stated with a huff.

* * *

It was Tuesday morning, and Izuku was currently in class. All Might was giving a brief history lesson about pro heroes. He was covering the transition period of the quirked being considered vigilantes to the government setting up a hero program to better regulate quirk usage by the populace as the population became more quirked than normal.

It truly was a fascinating topic, but Midoriya had other things on his mind. He had ended his talk with Tooru on such a sour note yesterday against his wishes. The green haired teen felt he should have known better than to continue to show concern for Katsuki in front of her. It was one of the few things they ever disagreed on. But that didn't stop him from being curious about the subject. But this for sure cemented the idea to avoid speaking of Bakugo anytime soon in front of his girlfriend.

On a more happier note, Izuku was successful in getting Tooru to want to come Friday. Hopefully, if everything went to plan, he could give his mom the one on one time he wanted for her and his girlfriend to have. It still bothered Midoriya what subject matters the two could discuss, but his want to please his mother outweighed his apprehensiveness.

The bell rang for lunch, and the class made their way out of the room, except for Izuku. All Might erased his notes on the whiteboard and once finished, he turned around to see only his successor was left in the classroom. Intrigued by his presence, the hulking hero cheerfully asked, "Got something on your mind, my boy?"

"Yeah, there was something important I wanted to tell you," Midoriya explained with seriousness in his voice.

With haste, All Might replied, "Well make it quick then, I got a teacher's meeting to attend."

Not expecting this, Izuku responded with, "Oh, well I need a bit more time than that to talk to you about this."

With a slight tilt of his head, the number one hero asked, "Mind swinging by the teacher's break room then after school if it's going to take some time to tell me?"

Excitedly, the green haired boy responded with, "That should work."

As All Might made his way to the door, he proclaimed, "See you then my protege!"

* * *

It was near the end of lunch at the group table. Tooru had yet to bring up the idea of the sleepover to the girls. Izuku wondered, was she nervous to ask them in front of the guys? Maybe she was going to ask them on a different day? Or perhaps just not at lunch, like possibly over the phone. He realized, at that moment, he still hadn't invited Momo to the group chat and needed to add her soon. Regardless, his friends were discussing All Might's lesson that just happened. Though at the moment it was more arguing it seemed.

"I'm just saying I find the idea of vigilantes as cool, nothing more," Mashirao tried to argue.

Sternly, Tenya replied, "And I stand by the fact that it's a dangerous path for a hero to go down, and we shouldn't see it in any positive light. Being at the edge of the law won't do anyone favors. It's a fragile line between a vigilante and a crazed villain who justifies his actions 'for the greater good.' Just look at the Stain if you want proof of such an instance."

Ida's words got Ojiro to drop the subject and drastically changed the mood in the air at the table. Thankfully Tooru spoke up after a few moments, "On a more happier note, I got a proposal for Uraraka-san and Yaoyorozu-san."

The girls looked to their invisible friend with perplexed looks. Tenya stopped drinking his orange juice. Mashirao seemed a least somewhat intrigued. Izuku tried to look surprised despite knowing what was about to be said.

With a jolly tone, Hagakure asked, "How'd you two like to come over to my place for a slumber party after our next study session?" Midoriya felt Tooru's right arm wrap around his neck as she pulled him in and stated, "I'll be sure to give you all the details of my date with Midoriya-kun if you come." This statement instantly got the girls to agree to the idea. Izuku felt he had been used as bait here but was okay with it regardless; it made Tooru happy, so it was worth it.

With a slightly agitated tone in his voice, Mashirao asked, "What's wrong with all of us having a sleepover?"

"Sounds like a logistical nightmare for one," stated Momo bluntly.

"And there's no guarantee all of our parents would be ok with a co-ed sleepover, no matter who's house we stay at," Ochako added.

Ojiro gave a quick grunt after hearing the girls' logic.

Tooru seemed happy seeing this and said, "See? No boys allowed, just us girls. Too bad Ojiro-san."

This comment got the tailed teen to stand and proclaim, "Oh yeah? Well us guys will just have a slumber party of our own!"

Both Izuku and Tenya responded in unison, "What?"

Mashirao continued by saying, "Yeah, and it's gotta be better than whatever you girls end of doing!"

A chuckle from Tooru came as she said, "Okay, this is childish even for you."

While raising his tail, Mashirao proclaimed, "I'm serious here!"

Ida then spoke up and asked, "And I'm taking you wanna do this at your place then, Ojiro-san?"

"Nah, it's gonna be at yours," Ojiro was quick to say.

Tenya adjusted his glasses as he stated, "Is it now?"

"Look, I'll explain why later," Mashirao stated as he sat back down.

Before anyone could say anything more on the matter, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

* * *

Izuku was laid back on a couch in the teacher's break room after school.

All Might was late.

Midoriya had done his routine entrance ritual with the doorknob earlier but got no response, until Cementoss opened the door. The pro hero knew about the procedure and was surprised that the student knew about it. He let the boy in, explaining that he had seen the hulking hero on the phone just minutes before. Once Cementoss had gotten the food he warmed up out of the microwave; he made his leave.

As he sat there waiting, Izuku was still trying to grasp what had happened at lunch. A sleepover with the guys? At Tenya's house? Why not Mashirao's? Was this again something to do with Ojiro's past? If so, what was it about his home that would reveal details? It was a lot to comprehend. Midoriya wasn't against the idea of going, in fact, he was elated to do the activity. It was only the circumstances of Mashirao wanting to do it was bothering him. The green haired teen knew his tailed friend was competitive, and probably didn't want to be one-upped by Tooru, but he felt there was more to it than just that.

A click came from the door to the room, and Izuku saw All Might in his true form come through the door with steam surrounding his body. This made him sit up as the man entered the room.

In a wheeze, the skeleton of a man stated, "Sorry for being late. I got an interview to do for a news station later this week. The director at the station keeps calling asking me pointless long-winded questions, but I just have the guts to ignore them." He coughed before saying, "Literally." The teacher then plopped down on the sofa opposite to his successor.

With concern, Midoryia asked, "You sure you're going to be okay?"

After clearing his throat, All Might replied, "All a part of the job kid, nothing I can't handle. But enough about me, what is it that you need to bring to my attention?"

"Well, a lot's happened since we last talked," the green haired teen said.

This got a raised eyebrow out of the pro hero, but he remained quiet.

Izuku continued by saying, "I've been spending a lot of time with Hagakure-chan, and just two days ago was her sixteenth birthday."

Midoriya then gave a brief description of the day's events. When it came to his approach towards the beach he left no detail out, well minus the kiss to the forehead he had received from Tooru and the personal details he had learned since meeting her.

At the end of his tale, Izuku said, "And so we're a couple now, and I just thought I should tell you since you've been such a pivotal person in my life, even though we've only personally known each other for about a year."

During the entirety of Midoriya's story, All Might remained silent, only giving slight reactions. A nod here, a surprised expression there. But at the end of it all, he got up and stood over his successor. In a puff of smoke, the man assumed his muscled form and lifted Izuku up and brought him into a hug and proclaimed, "Congratulations to you and Hagakure-san. You did good Midoriya, my boy."

This statement got a few tears from Izuku as he returned the embrace to his mentor.

"Still got to work on you crying all the time though," the hulking hero stated after a few moments. He then put the boy back down. And in yet another blast of steam, All Might returned to his true form and sat down next to his student. While Midoriya tried to wipe away his tears, his teacher, while breathing somewhat heavily between words, said, "How ironic that she confessed to you at the very place you received my gift. Truly inspiring."

"Yeah," Izuku said after a sniff. After clearing his throat, the boy continued, "Can you believe I even wore my training clothes that day too?"

A sudden chuckle came from All Might but it soon turned into a fit of coughs. After wiping a dribble of blood from his mouth, the skeleton of a man replied, "What a riot indeed." However, his voice changed to be more serious as he said, "While I truly am happy for you both, there's still the matter of our little secret. I understand that she is your girlfriend, and having such a partner means you need to be more open to one another but under no circumstance should you reveal anything about One for All."

Midoriya was quick to say, "I understand. I made sure not to say anything too questionable during my explanation about my training."

All Might put a hand on the boy's head as he said, "About that, did you really say it was your uncle that had helped you during the clean-up?"

Confused by his words and the gesture, Izuku responded with, "Yeah, it was all I could think of at the time."

A short grunt came from the pro hero, and a smile started to form on his face. "Uncle Toshinori, I like the sound of that," he said as ruffled the boy's hair.

Toshinori? The green haired teen suddenly realized he didn't know what his mentor's actual name was. He was tempted at that moment to ask about his last name but was more focused on the latter part of what All Might had just said. Did the pro hero just admit that he saw himself as a parental figure to his student? It comforted him regardless.

"Oh and one more thing. You already know that I am open to help you with anything if you need it, but I'm afraid I'm quite inexperienced when it comes to dating women. You'll need to look elsewhere if you need advice about any troubles you might have with your invisible girlfriend," the skeleton of a man stated awkwardly.

This statement surprised the successor to All Might. Had his mentor truly only focused on his inheritance of One for All plus being the number one hero of Japan and never tried to develop a deep relationship with someone? Sure, he wasn't obligated to find someone to settle down with, not everyone finds or wants someone to date or marry, but the boy felt his idol was quite lonely regardless. Because of the secrecy of his quirk and the high profile lifestyle he lived, the hulking hero didn't seem to have any real friends, just co-workers, and acquaintances. It felt depressing to Midoriya, but he couldn't think of a way he could cheer up All Might after revealing such a thing. All the number one hero had was him, it seemed, and the best he could do to respect that bond they had was to keep his most guarded secret.

Regardless of what he thought, eventually, Izuku replied, "I'll keep that in mind, sir."

* * *

Sitting in front of the air conditioner unit at his house, Izuku was trying to cool off. He had just finished his daily training routine and was sweating bullets. He knew taking a shower right away would have been the smart thing to do, but he wanted to enjoy the cold air a bit before washing up. Just as he was about satisfied with his body temperature, he noticed his phone receiving a message. However, upon looking at it, the boy realized it wasn't a message; it was an invitation from Mashirao to join a new chat group, called the bro squad. He also noticed Tenya was invited as well. Baffled at the reason it was created, and the terrible name, Midoriya began to type a response.

All Might: Seriously?

Lion: What?

All Might: Is this necessary?

Glasses: Minus the group name, I think it's a good idea. There might be scenarios where we need to talk with just us guys.

Lion: Thank you Ida-san, however, the name stays.

This comment got a chuckle from Izuku.

Glasses: Fine, it's not that important. However, could you please tell me why we have to have this sleepover at my place?

Lion: Sorry to put this on you. You're right, I should explain myself.

A minute passed before a response came.

Lion: My dad is very sick. It's a lifelong kind of thing, and it's really depressing to be around sometimes. I didn't want you guys to feel sorry for my family and me if you came over to my place.

Midoriya thought, whatever could this sickness be? What he had observed of his friend's father last week wasn't just a cold as he initially thought, it was something much more severe.

All Might: What does he have?

Lion: I would rather not say.

Izuku was torn upon seeing this. He understood it was a personal matter, but he was concerned about the well being of his tailed friend and his father. Midoriya hoped that maybe he would learn more at the sleepover.

Glasses: That's fine. Private matters of the family are between you and your loved ones.

All Might: Sorry I asked, didn't know it was that bad.

Lion: It's okay. Thanks for understanding you two.

Glasses: And I am to guess you chose my place over Midoriya-kun's because you didn't want him to worry?

Lion: Pretty much.

Midoriya felt he would have been okay with them coming over. He had Tooru over twice, and soon she would be over again. But he understood his friends were only looking out for him and began typing.

All Might: Thanks for looking out for me.

Lion: No problem, don't wanna stress you out and all.

Glasses: Well now that I understand your reasoning, let me discuss with my parents about you guys coming over this weekend. I'll update you as things develop.

Lion: Thanks so much Ida-san!

All Might: I hope they say yes!

* * *

It was now Friday, and both Izuku and Tooru were on the train towards the former's household. There they would change out of their uniforms and go to a local park where Midoriya liked to jog. He had asked Hagakure the day before to bring some work out clothing to change in to, and as embarrassing as it was to say, she could use his shower to wash up after their run. They were currently holding hands, and Tooru was humming some recently released popular pop music tune that Izuku vaguely recognized.

As they waited in silence, Izuku thought back to two days before. Tenya was able to confirm at Wednesday's lunch that the sleepover could be done at his place. He and Mashirao were both excited at the news, and the other girls didn't mind minus Tooru. She later told Izuku that she was a bit peeved that Mashirao wasn't joking about his plans for the boys.

Midoriya remembered Hagakure saying that day after lunch:

 _Ojiro-san always has to try and tease me about something. He's like the annoying twin brother I never had._

Izuku had to agree somewhat that the relationship between the two seemed quite similar to what his girlfriend had described. It made him wonder if he hadn't bonded with Tooru, would Mashirao have instead been the one to bond with her, and maybe they would dated or become a couple. The thought was rapidly shaken out of his head. It shouldn't concern him now, he was with Hagakure, and that's all that mattered.

After getting off the train and walking some, they arrived at an empty house.

"My mom is doing grocery shopping, but she should be back by the time we're done jogging," the younger Midoriya explained to his girlfriend.

Inko had told her son that morning her plans for the day. The thought of the two being alone in his house did bother the boy, but since they would be leaving quickly, he was able to cope with it. They both then changed, Izuku in his room, and Tooru in the bathroom. He wore the same outfit he wore on their last date, and she wore a white athletic t-shirt with black shorts that had white stripes along the sides. Midoriya walked out of his room to see Tooru putting on some black sweatbands to her wrists.

She turned around once she noticed his presence and said, "You ready to work up a sweat Izuku? I wanna go at a brisk pace!"

Surprised by her eagerness to go so fast, Izuku asked, "You want us to sprint in this weather?"

Summer was in full force at the moment. The dry heat would tire them out quickly, so he was just planning a nice slow but decently long jog.

"We gotta push our limits if we wanna pass the final exams in two weeks! You know, Plus Ultra and all that jazz. The hot weather will just be that much tougher on us to push us," Hagakure proclaimed with zest in her voice.

Motivated by her words Midoriya responded, "Okay, let's do it!"

The pair then left the house and made their way to the park nearby that Izuku often worked out at. Fortunately for them, some clouds did roll in during their walk, and there were small breaks from the heat from the temporary shade they would provide. The two began their jog moderately fast, but after a few minutes Tooru sped up, and Izuku struggled to keep up. After two laps around the park at this pace, Hagakure stopped at a water fountain to get a drink. Once Midoriya caught up he stood under a tree as he tried to catch his breath.

Tooru approached her boyfriend after the drink and stated, "That was a nice warm-up. Ready for the real deal?"

Flabbergasted that the jog had just been what she described, Izuku said, "Are we going to be full on sprinting now?"

The invisible girl then asked, "Have I been going too fast?"

"Yeah, that speed is too much for me for just a jog. I knew you were quick Tooru, but jeez," the green haired teen explained been large breaths.

Tooru was quick to respond, "Why not just use your quirk for a boost? You'd zoom past me with it I think."

"You know I can't publically use it for something like running for exercise," Izuku stated in a whine.

His girlfriend's rebuttal was, "I doubt anyone is gonna notice you running faster. So go ahead and use it."

"Tooru, my veins glow red, and I give off bio-electricity when I activate Full Cowl, it will be obvious I'm using a quirk," Midoriya argued.

Hagakure grunted and said, "I need a challenge Izuku! How do you suggest I push myself if I have to stay at your pace?"

Midoriya leaned against the tree behind him as he thought a possible solution. Eventually, he spoke up and said, "Well, why don't we make it a competition? We run as fast as we can, and the first one to stop from exhaustion loses? That way we can push ourselves without hindering one another cause of our different speeds."

After a few moments to ponder the suggestion, Tooru said, "I would be okay with that. You ready to lose?"

While clenching a fist, Izuku stated, "You wish!"

Midoriya lost count how many laps they did and how many times he got lapped. Tooru was surprisingly the first to quit, though her boyfriend was almost ready to give as well at that point. Midoriya rounded a corner to see Tooru sitting on the ground breathing loudly.

"Looks like you win in the end Izuku. I might be faster, but you have the better endurance it seems," the invisible girl huffed.

The green haired teen sat down next to her and said between breaths, "I was about at my limit. Another lap was all I had left in me."

The two sat there for a few minutes to catch their breath before finding a water fountain to quench their thirst. While Tooru drank, he noticed something odd. Midoriya was drenched in sweat, yet when he looked at Hagakure, there wasn't a drop of liquid on her skin. It would have been quite obvious that she was sweating, it would be floating liquid all around her invisible limbs and face. But there was nothing.

After taking a drink himself, Izuku asked, "Hey Tooru, were you holding back at all today?"

A bit taken aback by the comment, Tooru replied, "No. I gave my all when I ran just now. I want to push my limits, remember? Why are you asking?"

"Well, you're bone dry. It looks like you didn't shed a single bead of sweat from our run," Midoriya explained.

"Oh, that. My quirk makes my sweat invisible. Everything about me is invisible: my hair, sweat, tears, drool, blood, you name it, you're not going to see it," the invisible girl explained.

Surprised by the revelation, Izuku said, "I had no idea." He paused before asking, "Wait, even your blood can't be seen?"

"Yep. It makes cleaning up wounds a huge pain," Hagakure said with agitation.

This fact got the boy to think back to the day after school that he told Tooru and Mashirao about everything that had happened with the Hero Killer. He remembered when she had become distraught about his well being. Izuku didn't remember seeing tears. He thought she had wiped them away before he could see them, but they must have been there all along, but they were just invisible. With this fact in mind, it would mean that it might be hard to tell his girlfriend was not only hurt physically but mentally. Midoriya wouldn't be able to tell if Hagakure was ever in bodily harm or crying just from looking at her. Just another complication he would need to be aware of when interacting with the invisible girl, he thought.

After collecting his thoughts, Izuku said, "That does sound troublesome."

"Well anyway, mind if we start heading back to your place? I'd love to take a shower now," Tooru stated.

The boy then saw one of her sweatbands be brought up towards him. He grasped in front of it to grab her hands, and it indeed felt wet from her non-visible sweat. After giving a smile, he said, "Sure, let's go."

The two arrived back at the house with no sign of the boy's mother. It somewhat concerned Izuku, but he remembered it was Friday afternoon. It would probably be quite busy where ever she was at this time, it was rush hour after all at the moment. The boy insisted that Tooru shower first, which she had no problem taking the offer.

While Hagakure washed up, Midoriya grabbed the most recent edition of his series of notebooks to pass the time and not think about his girlfriend being nude in his bathroom. This one was almost finished, as it cataloged all the quirks he had observed since he began U.A. and he was nearing its final pages. However, he already had two pages dedicated to Hagakure and turned to her section. There was plenty of room still left to write the new details he just learned, and he began jotting them down. Izuku kept thinking and writing until he heard the bathroom door open. He turned to see Tooru in a white and dark blue striped t-shirt with white shorts, and she now had on dark blue snap bracelets.

"Your turn, stinky," Hagakure teased.

Midoriya nodded and closed his notebook before grabbing the pile of fresh clothes at his side. Just before entering the bathroom he stated, "My mom should be home any minute, help yourself to anything in the fridge if you're thirsty."

The boy then entered his bathroom and turned on the water to let it fill the tub. He had decided to take a bath over a shower to buy more time for his mom to get home. Just before he was getting in, he heard voices through the door and figured his mother had returned. Perfect. Now he could take a long bath to give them some alone time, even though the subjects they might discuss did give him some worry. Izuku hoped whatever they discussed wasn't embarrassing for Tooru.

After the boy felt enough time had passed, he finished up and changed into a light green sleeveless shirt and light brown khaki shorts before walking out of the bathroom. Inko was busy making dinner in the kitchen.

As Izuku came into view, his mom said, "Afternoon honey." He saw that her eyes were red, probably from crying. She and Tooru probably had a moment, the boy guessed. She then got closer and whispered, "Thanks for inviting Hagakure-chan on such a short notice, I just wanted to talk to her after everything that had happened."

The younger Midoriya was glad his thoughts were correct on his mother wanting to speak to his girlfriend. "No problem mom," the green haired boy said as he continued walking to see what Tooru was up to. The person in question was laying on her back on the sofa and reading his notebook. He gulped and asked, "Find anything interesting?"

"Gotta say Izuku if I didn't know you so well I would say this would be quite creepy," Tooru said in a serious tone.

This got an awkward chuckle out of the boy.

She then continued, "I do like your new entry about me though."

Midoriya had hoped she hadn't seen that part of the notebook. He replied, "I just had to write about it since it was still fresh in my mind."

Hagakure then stated, word for word a few sentences he had written, "Transparency not only makes her tissues invisible but everything else from her body. Have observed sweat as being transparent after strenuous activity, could see no liquid but felt the wetness of her skin. Subject has stated that other parts of the body like tears, saliva, and blood are also invisible. This fact point supports the theory that her quirk is at the cellular level and does not degrade even when expired, otherwise, her hair, fingernails, and technically her top layer of skin would be visible as they are made up of dead cells. This can also be seen as both positive and negative attributes for her prospects as a hero. This better hides her presence if winded or hurt from combat. However, it also means teammates would not be able to tell if the subject was fatigued or in need of medical assistance visually." She then sat up and teased, "I can continue if you want."

Izuku sat down and responded, "I think I'm good, thanks."

A voice made them both turn around as they said, "That does sound creepy."

Inko was standing in the hallway with oven mitts on her hands.

"Mooomm," the younger Midoriya whined.

The older Midoriya shrugged and stated, "What? I just put the sauce in the oven and wanted to see what you two were up to. I know you're really into heroics honey, but what you wrote sounds like you have her in a laboratory doing tests."

Izuku sighed as his face went crimson and the two women laughed at his embarrassment.

An egg timer rang in the distance and Inko quickly left to attend whatever she had set the timer for.

With his blush fading, Izuku asked, "So what did you and my mom talk about while I bathed."

"That's between us females," Tooru said with sass in her voice.

The green haired teen didn't expect to get a straight answer, but he also didn't think he would be totally shut down.

The look of disappointment on her boyfriend's face did get Hagakure to say, "Well it was nothing too embarrassing. She mostly just thanked me for being such a good friend to you. And I know I've already told you this, but your mom is just like you as you've described. She's a big crybaby like you."

Midoriya sighed and replied in a sarcastic tone, "Thanks for the complaint."

"What? It's okay to have a good cry every once in a while. Better to let it all out than to hold it in till you explode," Tooru explained.

Izuku couldn't argue with that logic, but All Might's advice about his quickness to shed tears still rebounded in his head even days later. Plus he felt it made him look pathetic.

Hagakure then said, "We talked about some other things, but that's strictly between me and your mom, sorry."

Happy with what he was able to get out of his girlfriend, Midoriya responded with, "I understand. Thanks for telling what you could to me."

The two spent the rest of their time before the food was ready talking about their other classmate's quirks that Izuku had written in the notebook. They mainly focused on their close group of friends, and Mashirao's pages got Tooru to question about the tailed teen's dad. In the journal, the boy had noted the older Ojiro's quirk in relation to his son. This made Midoriya reveal to Hagakure what had happened that afternoon he met Mr. Ojiro. He didn't reveal the man's sickness that he had observed or been told by the younger Ojiro by text. The boy felt like he couldn't tell his girlfriend about it as he lacked the full details about it, plus he wanted not to disrespect his tailed friend's privacy.

Dinner went quite well. Sure Izuku had invited Tooru on Friday so she could stay later and it wouldn't interfere with school since it was on the weekend. But he also brought her so she could try his favorite food, and she did like it. As they ate Tooru made it her mission to try and embarrass Izuku in front of his mom by talking about their previous interactions. But she was quick to find out that everything she said was already known by the older women. Izuku instead tried to talk about his study sessions at Momo's house. Their third session would be tomorrow, and he hadn't yet discussed them in detail with his mom. Tooru was quick to jump at the opportunity to talk about it, as it was doing wonders for her studying and confidence for the final exam. Once dinner was finished, Inko left the two alone as they were about to say their goodbyes to one another.

The two were currently standing in front of the now open door that exited Izuku's apartment. Tooru then said, "I never saw you as the type to be so open about everything with your mom."

Trying to explain, Midoriya stated, "I needed to vent my stress on how quickly we moved in our relationship somehow. And telling my mom helped me cope a bit."

With a soft voice, Hagakure then asked, "Does it bother you that we progressed this quickly?"

After giving a few moments of thought, Izuku replied, "I think I was stressing out more because of my lack of social skills. Plus this was on top of just getting a quirk and everything that's been happening at school. I'm sure if I was normal it wouldn't have been such a problem."

"Well, I'm glad you aren't normal Izuku! I wouldn't have asked you to be my boyfriend if you were," the invisible girl proclaimed cheerfully.

With a blush, the green haired boy stated, "T-Thanks Tooru."

Midoriya then felt hands grab both of his own. "I like this back and forth ritual we have between us you know?"

Baffled at what she meant Izuku asked, "What do you mean?"

"First you asked me to come to your place after the Hero Festival. Then I asked to come a second time. You then proposed celebrating my birthday together. Next came me confessing to you. And now we did all this today, of your suggestion," Hagakure explained slowly.

Surprised that he hadn't noticed this, Midoriya then asked, "I guess that means you wanna ask me to do something with you?"

The invisible girl replied with a serious tone, "Yeah, but I want you to be honest about how you feel about this. No saying yes for my sake, say yes because you wanna do it."

Izuku responded with, "Okay, I promise. Now, what is it?"

After a few moments, Tooru said slowly and with care, "Wanna come and see my folks next Sunday?"

Izuku's breathing started to pick up at this comment.

The invisible girl was quick to say once she saw his reaction, "Sorry. Forget I asked. This is still too soon I guess."

Midoriya was rapid to argue, "N-No it's okay, I wanna see your f-folks."

"Izuku, you're a terrible liar. It looked like your heart was about to leap out of your chest when I asked," Hagakure said bluntly.

"I mean yeah, I'm stressed just thinking about it, but I think at this point I'm more interested in meeting your family then what could happen if I go," the green haired boy tried to explain.

The two then gave quick responses to each other.

"Are you positive?"

"Very!"

"One Hundred percent?"

"Maybe ninety percent."

"Please be honest!"

Izuku hesitated for a moment and then took a step forward to hug Tooru. He then said, "Okay, maybe around eighty, but who cares about a number. I want to go to your home and meet your parents Tooru."

Hagakure was quick to embrace him back. After a few moments, she moved her head back and then placed a kiss on her boyfriend's right cheek. Midoriya's heart began to race. But not because of Tooru's kiss but because of something else. From this position, Izuku was able to see her back bra strap through the neck hole in her clothing, which almost instantly had him jump back.

"What's wrong? You had no problem when I kissed you on your forehead on my birthday," Hagakure asked in confusion.

Midoriya responded with a stutter, "S-Sorry, last time I-I expected it was c-coming."

After sighing, Tooru replied, "Regardless, I did that for saying yes to my proposal." She then said in a softer tone, "And for the hug. I was wondering how long it would be until you would do that to me. As much as I like our embraces, I was getting tired of just be initiating them."

Izuku gulped before responding with, "Y-Yeah I thought it wasn't f-fair to you to always to b-be the one to do i-it."

"Well besides that, it will be a real treat to see how you interact with my parents, I gotta admit," the invisible girl stated. She then parted from her boyfriend and turned to open the door. Before making her leave, Hagakure said, "I'll see you tomorrow at the study session Izuku."

"Yeah, until then Tooru," Midoriya replied.

After his girlfriend left and after closing the door, the teen made a mental note that whenever they kissed in the future, he would need to keep his eyes shut or look elsewhere if he wanted to keep his sanity in check.

* * *

 **This chapter initially was going to be much longer. I wanted to have the third study session and the sleepover to be a part of it, but two problems came up. The first one was thematics, once I started further brainstorming and writing both those scenes I realized how Mashirao centric they were. And since that's the central theme of chapter twelve, I decided to move them there. The second was lack of time; I woke Sunday with only 7k words written as I had been doing something that put off working on this chapter. That reason will be explained in the next paragraph. I wanted to give enough time to go over and edit the chapter, so I cut it off after Tooru's third visit since I work all day this Monday. Plus it was nice to end on the tease of visiting Hakaure's parents. Chapter thirteen will cover the aftermath of twelve, the last study session, and the trip to Tooru's house. Fourteen will focus on the results of the Final Exam and cover an altered shopping trip before the summer training scene from the manga. From there the way things are looking, going from my outlines, we'll probably get to the U.A. dorms by chapter seventeen. After that, a lot of things are up in the air with only major plot points I've jotted down. Either way, just wanted to give** ya'll **a heads up when I mostly skip over the Final Exam, School Trip, and Hideout Raid arcs and instead mainly focus on their in-betweens and aftermath.**

 **From October 3-13, I did large grammatical edit updates to the already posted chapters (a chapter a day, minus chapter 8 which took two). It grinds my gears** **that I skip over such apparent errors even after re-reading a chapter for the umpteenth time. As I did the edits, it left me little free time to work on chapter eleven, so in the future, I'll probably spread out my edits so not to conflict with the current chapter. A few extra lines of details were added here and there as well, the only significant additions were to Tooru's second visit to Izuku's house in chapter eight (added over a thousand words) and to a small scene (now proper length) in chapter nine (the one on Sunday just after the first study session). For the Tooru visit, again there were subjects I wanted the two to discuss at that time, and I forgot to mention because of poor planning on my part (that chapter was kinda just written with little pre-planning). For the Sunday scene in nine, I forgot to mention something important there and to do a phone scene with Ochako, don't know how I forgot about it, I wrote it my outline.**

 **The bit about "everything about Tooru is invisible" is a change I'm making from the manga. We see her drool in chapter 99 of the manga, even if it was just used for comedic effect, and I feel like we see her sweat at least once in the manga, but I'm not 100% sure if that ever occurred. Regardless it's a detail I thought that would make more sense with her quirk. It's always interesting to think up ways that Tooru's quirk would make things inconvenient for her in her normal life. I've only got a few more to share that I've been able to think of, and I hope you agree with my reasoning behind them when they get revealed in future chapters. If you have any ideas about potential problems she might face being invisible, shoot me a pm, I'd love to have more opportunities for Izuku learn more about his girlfriend. The whole work-out scene exists because I wanted a scenario where Midoriya could learn about this fact about Hagakure naturally than just asking more about herself.**

 **Hey, got some more use from Koda this chapter! And he spoke! Ok only one line, but it sure was a mouthful. We will see Koji again next chapter as we get to learn more about his relationship with Mashirao** **. It's always fun to use characters that we know so little about. Fleshing them out is still a challenge that's a joy to try and tackle. I hope I get to use more of class 1-A and even 1-B classmates as things progress but I want to keep their inclusion as natural, not forced, hence why we haven't been seeing them at all minus a passing mention or two, as they haven't been needed.**

 **Chapter twelve will release the day before Halloween!**


	12. A Long Day Amongst Companions

Izuku was walking towards Momo's mansion once again, except this time he wasn't alone. Mashirao was by his side, still groggy as always with each Saturday morning. Ojiro had run into Midoriya as he was waiting for the female officer to open the gate for him.

"Sounds like your afternoon with Hagakure-san went well," the tailed teen said after a yawn.

Izuku had just given a brief explanation of Tooru's visit yesterday as the two approached Momo's house. Ojiro didn't seem fazed as he was told about everything, but Midoriya guessed it was because he was still not fully awake. The green haired teen cheerfully replied, "Yeah, and things should be interesting when I visit her place next weekend."

"You sure you're up to it Izuku? That's a pretty big step to visit your girlfriend's folks," Mashirao stated with concern in his voice.

Izuku breathed in and out quickly before proclaiming proudly, "Yeah, I think I can handle it!"

Ojiro switched his tone to be more serious as he said, "Man you are a different person than the guy I met back in April. You would stutter about almost anything when speaking about anything that was even remotely stressful, and your interactions with girls were like someone stuck in a room full of banana peels."

Midoriya now had his full attention on his tailed friend.

Mashirao then continued with, "Now look at you, you got a girlfriend, a great one at that, and you can handle stressful situations even better than I can, I think. Maybe I should have asked that we have the sleepover at your place now that I think about it."

Izuku couldn't grasp how to respond to the praise. What Mashirao said was deeply comforting for him, and he had no idea how he could follow up with anything in the next few seconds that would as meaningful as what was just said.

The tailed teen stopped in front of the gate to Momo's house, he stated, "It's okay if you don't respond. I kind of gushed there out of the blue, and I'm sure that is a lot to process at the moment. Your silence tells me enough." He then pressed the intercom, "Yo! It's Yaoyorozu-san's friends here for another day of valued learning. Mind opening the gate?"

After a few moments, a voice responded, "Must you be so informal, boy?" It was Yasumura, and his voice came off as being exhausted.

"It's just the kind of guy I am sir," Mashirao said after shrugging and hitting the button again to speak.

A short sigh came over the intercom before the head butler responded with," I suppose. I'll open the gate post haste, but please excuse the state of the manor at the moment, we have a lot of guests today."

This comment surprised the two teens. The pair looked at the mansion to see a large number of vehicles parked in the front. They had been so absorbed in their talk they didn't notice them as they walked up to the gate. Limos, sports cars, and mint condition vintage vehicles were strewn across the entrance to Momo's house.

With a perplexed look, Ojiro asked, "What do you think is going on?"

"No idea, but I feel we might finally get to meet Yaoyorozu-san's parents today," Izuku replied slowly.

After the gate opened, the two made their way to the house. As they reached the mass of parked cars, they marveled at the high priced vehicles they could never dream of owning in front of them. However, they were quick to be approached by a man in a black suit and cap. Izuku guessed he was in his mid-twenties. The newcomer then said abruptly, "Hey, step away from that car! What are brats like you doing here? That's worth more than you'll ever amount to!"

Midoriya could instantly tell Ojiro had tensed up and was prepared to say something to calm his friend him and the mysterious man down. However, a loud yell brought all three to a stop, "I say! Stop this immediately you! Those are honored guests of this estate!" Yasumura was on the steps to the driveway and quickly made his way to the trio. The butler looked like his usual self except he was carrying a sword at his side.

The driver asked in a baffled voice, "What's the meaning of this sir? These kids obviously don't belong here, do you see what they're wearing?" Izuku wore a light grey t-shirt with dark brown khaki shorts and Mashirao a white and black striped t-shirt with cargo pants. Both also had a backpack with their things for studying and the sleepover, Midoriya's was white and Ojiro's black.

In a stern tone, Makoto explained, "They are obviously not here for the investor meeting you dimwit. They are here for a study lesson with the young mistress of this estate, as these two are aspiring young heroes like her. Now I suggest you get back to your master's vehicle and wait patiently for their return, and not have a power trip by harassing children for simply looking at it, or you and me or going to have a problem!"

The driver stood there with a look of shock as his skin went pale. He then turned and walked towards the vehicle and got in without a word.

Now that the butler was closer, Midoriya got a better look at the sword he had. It was a rapier, the sheath was long and black, and the guard for the rapier was gold and quite busy with its design.

"I swear some people," Yasumura said with disdain before looking at the two teens. "Sorry about that. There is get together today about financials for my master's company. It shouldn't, however, interfere with your time with Yaoyorozu-dono. If you will follow me, please." As the three began making their way towards the house, the head butler pulled out a small radio and stated, "Yuki-san. Are you busy?"

Almost a minute passed before a lazy voice answered, "Not really, sir. You told me just to fix that one busted pipe on the side of the house today, and then I could have the rest of the day off, remember?"

Makoto stopped at the front door and held up a hand to the pair before replying, "Are you done with the task?"

"Just finished sir," Aoi responded.

The head butler then stated, "Midoriya-san and Ojiro-san just had some trouble with one of the drivers of our guests today. I don't want this repeated, but as you know, I am incredibly busy this morning. Could I ask you to greet the rest of the visitors for our young mistress before you finish for the day?

With a bit of worry in her voice, Yuki asked, "Those two okay?"

"Of course, I handled the problem personally," Makoto explained bluntly.

After a few seconds, the woman said, "Yeah, I'll do it. But man, you can be a scary dude sometimes, sir."

Yasumura grunted before answering, "I'll take that as a complement, and thank you." He then pocketed the radio and opened the door before saying, "You two are quite early today. Yaoyorozu-dono is still dressed for the meet and greet this morning, and she still doesn't know of your early arrival yet. I'll go contact her." The butler then made his way towards the main hall to the left after closing the door.

The two sat in some chairs to the right of the entrance while they waited.

Mashirao then spoke up, "Man I'm glad that guy turned out not to be an asshole."

While itching his cheek, Izuku replied, "Yeah, he's turned out quite different than my first impression of him."

"Any idea what was with that sword though? That thing looked more fancy than practical," Ojiro stated with curiosity.

Since the two were now on good terms, Midoriya felt it was okay to reveal the fact of Yasumura's lack of a quirk and explained, "Yaoyorozu-san told me that he's quirkless but quite good at fighting with weapons like those."

With a shocked look on his face, the tailed teen proclaimed, "Wait that guy was seriously going to fight me without a quirk or weapon two weeks ago?"

Izuku shrugged at his friend's comment before saying, "He might have had a hidden weapon on him at the time."

"Perhaps," Mashirao said with a sigh.

The two remained quiet for a few minutes as they watched Ozama come to the door twice to escort people towards the business meeting. Eventually, Midoriya broke the silence by saying, "So you ready for the sleepover tonight?"

Ojiro then stated with glee, "You know it! I'm sure it will be better than whatever the girl's come up with."

The green haired boy squinted his eyes as he replied, "We don't need to outdo them you know. Even then, I doubt they'd tell us how their's went in detail anyways for us to compare to."

"Oh, I know. It's all good fun just to tease Hagakure-san," Mashirao explained as he crossed his arms. He then continued, "Besides even if they don't tell us I doubt that they could-. Woah."

The statement's ending confused Izuku, and he asked, "What's wrong?"

The blonde teen pointed down the left hallway, and Izuku turned around to see quite a sight. It was Momo, she was still making her way to them but what she was wearing was what got both of their attention. It was a bright red sheath dress that went a bit past her knees. On her feet were red high heels that gave off a slight sparkle as she walked towards them. She also wore a thin silver necklace, and while her hair was still in a bun, it was slightly lower than usual, about even with her shoulders.

Once she had arrived, Momo said, "Morning guys. Sorry about not being here to greet you, my mother forgot to tell me about this financial meeting today, but I was able to convince her that I would only stay around for the initial greeting of our guests."

"T-That looks g-good on you Yaoyorozu-san," Izuku said sheepishly. He felt he had to say something, even if her outfit looked a bit much for a girl her age.

"Thanks, Midoriya-san," Momo said with a smile.

Mashirao asked with a puzzled look on his face, "Yeah, it's quite, interesting. It looks like you're ready for a night on the town, not for some business meeting."

Yaoyorozu replied with a now awkward smile, "I will admit I do feel a bit uncomfortable wearing this in front of all those businessmen and woman."

Ojiro then asked yet another question, "Is it because it's embarrassing?"

Blunty, the tall girl, responded, "The outfit? No, I love the dress, but it's just that my-." She paused, before continuing, "Sorry, I'm not comfortable talking about this further."

The boys looked at each other with confused looks after her statement. The tailed teen then stood up and stated, "Never mind then, forget I asked. We'll just head to the study hall while you change, okay?"

Momo sighed before saying, "Thanks for understanding. I'll see you in a few minutes." She then headed for the stairs up to her room.

Mashirao waited untill she had made it up a decent amount of steps before turning around to grab his backpack. As he did, he said, "Well that was weird."

While standing up and putting on his backpack, Midoriya asked, "What do you think that was about?"

Ojiro stood there for a few moments before replying, "I don't know. Most girls our age would be quite embarrassed to be seen in a dress like that by her classmates, even if we are friends of hers. Though going from her hero costume, we shouldn't be surprised at her tastes in fashion."

Izuku did feel that both her current outfit and hero costume did bring out her curves quite well, with the latter showing off a lot more skin than he was comfortable with. The tailed teen began to walk towards the stairs, and his friend followed. As they ascended the stairs, Midoriya spoke up and said, "Well as long as she's comfortable in it, does it matter?"

Mashirao then explained slowly, "I guess not, but it's still odd. She said she liked the dress, but something else was making her uncomfortable about wearing it. You'd think anyone rich would love to be in such an expensive looking outfit."

"Ojiro-kun I thought you said you were done judging her based on her wealth," Midoriya said while having a serious look on his face.

Ojiro held up a hand before explaining, "It's not like that, hear me out here. Usually, girls that dress like that would be very flirtatious, but I've never seen Yaoyorozu-san ever act like that, so what's the reason behind her liking such clothing?"

"It could simply mean she likes slightly r-revealing clothing," Izuku tried to argue.

"Her hero outfit is hardly 'slightly revealing' Izuku. There are clothes with boob windows dude, like her current outfit, and then there's that leotard of her's that not only shows more than that but all of her legs and even her belly as well," the tailed teen responded quickly.

The subject was making Midoriya start to blush, but he again tried to defend Momo's attire choices by saying, "She probably needs to e-expose s-skin to better use her quirk is all."

"Perhaps, but it still makes me uncomfortable around her during our practical lessons, like when I learned when Hagakure-san had to be completely nude to be truly invisible," Mashirao responded hesitantly.

Izuku nodded as he responded, "Ah. I see your point." The pair were on the second floor and in front of the study hall. As they entered Midoriya sighed and said, "I guess with all that's happening today we probably won't get to meet Yaoyorozu-san's parents."

Ojiro took a seat and replied, "Why do you want to meet them?"

"Well it was kind of neat to meet your dad, so I was curious about her parents since we come here so often. I guess I just find it odd that we still haven't seen them, even knowing that they were away the last two weekends," Midoriya explained while taking a seat himself.

Raising an eyebrow, the tailed teen asked, "You found my dad neat despite only being with him for a few minutes?"

"Well yeah. I got to see your father's quirk and how he compares to you both in ability and personality," Izuku responded excitedly.

After exhaling and closing his eyes, Ojiro replied, "I guess it would be interesting to meet Yaoyorozu's parents if you think about it like that."

While they waited for Momo to show up, Mashirao rapidly drifted into a nap. Izuku remained quiet so his friend could enjoy the rest. The green haired teen did ponder why Ojiro had come early. Midoriya had come to maybe learn more about Momo and meet her folks, so what was his tailed friend's reasoning? Was he trying to come early for once but overdid it? Or was he anxious about the sleepover? Was it just chance, and Izuku was overthinking about the situation? It bothered him regardless of what the potential answer could be.

After some time passed, Momo entered the room again wearing the same outfit when she tutored them in the past. Her presence didn't wake Mashirao and Izuku got up and approached the tall girl. With a whisper, he said, "He fell asleep not long after we got here."

With a smirk, Momo replied softly, "He probably got up earlier than normal to make sure he got here on time for once."

"Yeah, a bit too early if you ask me," Izuku said with a sigh as he looked at his sleeping friend.

Yaoyorozu squinted her eyes behind her glasses before saying, "Same can be said for you."

Holding his hands up, the boy tried to explain, "Sorry, I wanted to see if I had a chance of seeing your parents."

The tall girl then asked, "Why is that?"

"Well, I got to meet Ojiro-kun's dad last Thursday. And it got me excited at the possibility to maybe meet your folks," Izuku explained in a hush.

Yaoyorozu then motioned Midoriya to follow her, and the two made their way to the opposite end of the room. They then continued in soft voices as not to disturb Mashirao. Momo started by asking, "If you don't mind me asking, what was his dad like?"

Remembering his tailed friend's text from yesterday, Izuku replied, "Oh, I think Ojiro-kun wouldn't want me to say too much. I think it's a sensitive subject for him."

Now even more curious, Yaoyorozu asked, "Why? His dad wasn't rude or crude to you was he?"

Shaking his head, Midoriya responded with, "No, he was fine, a bit aloof but nothing bad."

The tall girl leaned forwards towards the boy which put him against the wall. She put a hand on the said wall and stated in a slightly raised voice, "You're hiding something."

Turning away from her bust that was now straight ahead of him, Izuku tried to explain, "O-Okay I am, but trust me, even I don't fully understand Ojiro-kun's reasoning behind what he said. I thought maybe I could find out more tonight at our sleepover, with Ida-kun's help, as it concerns me if it's affecting him badly."

Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Momo leaned back and stated, "Well, I hope you find out, cause it sounds serious."

"Thanks, and I'll try," Midoriya sighed as he appreciated her backing off. The tall girl turned around and made her way back to the table, but before she could make it far, the green haired teen said, "Hey wait, Yaoyorozu-san!" Izuku's sudden outburst got Mashirao to slowly turn his head, but luckily he remained asleep.

Momo was quick to whip around and made her way back to Izuku before saying, "Keep it down a notch will you." He nodded rapidly before she asked, "So what is it you want?"

Midoriya felt he should have done this earlier, perhaps two weeks ago. He then stated softly, "Me and the others have a group chat that we use to talk outside of school. I should have offered you to join us after the first study session but it honestly slipped my mind. Maybe it was because I was dealing with my relationship with Tooru at the time but that's beside the point. Would you like to join it?"

Yaoyorozu brought her hands together before happily but quietly replying, "Of course Midoriya-san. That sounds like it would come in handy sometimes."

"It does," Izuku answered. He then exchanged numbers with Momo and added her to the group before the pair sat down to wait for their other friends to arrive.

The day's study lesson was going slowly. Modern hero art history, while fascinating to Midoriya, was kind of an awkward subject for everyone in the room. Mainly, cause it was taught by the +18 only heroine, Midnight. Izuku compared her style of teaching to a sports coach teaching a subject in his previous schools. Sure the required material was covered, but it just felt like the bare minimum. Instead, a decent portion of her classes was spent with her commentary on everything that was happening during school. Having All Might as a teacher, the level three security break-in, the villain invasion, Eraserhead and Thirteen's injuries, the sports festival, the hero killer incident, and more recently teasing about the final exams and their difficulty were such common topics. While interesting to see a teacher's perspective on the events, and how it sometimes sparked discussion between the classmates, it felt out of place. And then there was her playfulness that could switch to anger at the drop of a hat and then her flirtatious plus sometimes sadistic personality on top of everything else, which was weird for a teacher to have even at a school of quirky heroes. The group just shared notes and asked questions to Momo and Tenya about any issues they had for the morning's lesson.

The group stopped to take a break at noon, expecting lunch to be served soon, but as time went by and stomachs growled Momo finally had enough and got up to see what was happening. But before she could even get to the door, it opened on its own, and a slightly overweight short man entered the room. He was wearing a tuxedo. His dress shirt was black, but his jacket, pants, and tie were a dark red. The mysterious man had short and slick black hair but it was greying in areas, plus he had a small petit handlebar mustache.

Momo awkwardly and slowly asked, "Daddy, what are you doing here?"

"Getting away from that mundane get together downstairs. You know I hate attending business meetings, I wish your mother would just be head of the company so I can be over with these trifling things," the elder Yaoyorozu said in annoyance. The man then changed to a more merry tone as he stated, "Besides I've wanted to meet these friends of yours that have been coming over here the last few weekends." Momo sighed and motioned like she was ready to introduce everyone, but her father quickly made his way towards Izuku and out reached a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Midoriya-san, I've heard and seen quite a lot about you," the man said with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Thank you sir, but I don't believe we've met before," Izuku said while shaking his hand. Now that he was in front of him, the boy realized the man was even shorter than he was. Midoriya guessed he was around Hagakure's height, the shortest person in the group.

"Of course we haven't, but who could forget the face of an individual who gave such a smashing performance at the tournament portion of the hero festival? I did not get to see it in person, as much as I wanted to, but seeing it live on the TV when I was out of town was still quite a heart-pounding experience for me," the man said with glee. It still surprised Izuku just how many people had watched and recognized his efforts even to this day. He could only respond with a soft chuckle, but the older Yaoyorozu had already moved on to Tenya who was still seated. "Ah and you must be Ida-san, my daughter has mentioned your name before, class president," he said in a bow.

While adjusting his glasses, Ida asked, "How did you guess I was the class president?"

Blunty, the man replied, "Well, you look like one, obviously." Tenya sunk in his chair slightly at the comment and it got Ochako to giggle. The parent then turned his head towards Mashirao before saying, "And by process of elimination that means you must be the one that almost got in a kerfuffle with my new head butler."

Ojiro's face had a combination of fear, confusion, and panic after hearing those words and said, "I'm s-so sorry sir, I-I-"

"Woah now, I'm not angry at you boy. Yasumura-san is a good friend of the family, but even I will admit that man can be quite, passionate with his emotions sometimes. From what I've heard you two made amends anyhow, so I have no quarrel with you," the short man stated.

Mashirao then exhaled loudly as he rubbed his temple. He got up and held out a hand before saying, "Thank you for being so understanding sir. The name is Mashirao Ojiro."

As the older Yaoyorozu shook hands with the tailed teen, he eventually snapped his fingers with his free hand, "Wait a second, I remember you now. You are that boy that forfeited before the tournament began."

With an awkward smile, Ojiro replied, "Y-Yeah that was me."

The short man crossed his arms as he said, "A noble gesture indeed, but you really should have competed anyway and proved if you truly were worthy or not of advancing."

Tooru then blurted out, "That's what I said to him!"

The older Yaoyorozu turned around and had a peculiar look on his face. He then asked slowly, "And who might you be miss?"

Tooru approached the man and then proclaimed, "I'm Tooru Hagakure, and I'm Midoriya-kun's new girlfriend." Izuku facepalmed and slowly dragged his hand down his face. He could hear Mashirao trying to hold in a chuckle, and Momo gave out a long sigh.

The short man, however, after a few moments, gave out a heartful laugh and afterward stated, "Ah, youthful love. So quick to announce it to someone you just met. Well regardless, congratulations to you both." He seemed to easily find her hand because of her snap bracelet and shook it. The older Yaoyorozu then once again turned around and this time headed over to Ochako. With a puzzled look on his face, he asked, "You look familiar, mind jogging my memory miss?"

Uraraka looked upward and tapped her cheek a few time before answering, "Oh, you probably recognize me from my performance at the Hero Festival. I was the one who fought the overall winner in the first round of the tournament."

It took a second, but the short man face then turned apologetic as he said, "Ah yes, now I remember. I'm sure you would have made it further if you hadn't gone up against such a strong fellow at the start. Regardless, you gave a valiant effort from what I can recall."

"Thank you, sir," the zero-gravity heroine stated happily as she shook the man's hand.

Just as they parted hands, the door suddenly swung open, and a flustered Yasumura stumbled into the room. The butler looked over at his employer and heaved a massive sigh of relief. However, he quickly stated, "I've been looking all over for you Yaoyorozu-sama, you need to return to the dining room immediately!"

"I'd rather help Sakurai-san cook for our guests, and you know how terrible I am at such a thing," the short man said as he waved off his head butler.

With urgency in his tone, Makoto proclaimed, "You don't understand sir, your wife is also looking for you! She is probably heading this way as we speak!"

"Oh, bother," the older Yaoyorozu stated as he rubbed his temple. He then looked around desperately until fixating at a window to his side; he then asked, "Yasumura-san open this please while I prepare myself." With speed in his movements, the butler did so without a word. His employer, however, removed his gloves and took out a small tube from his pocket.

Momo approached her father and asked, "Daddy, why are you running?"

With a blunt voice, the father replied, "You know as well as I do that nothing is worse than the scorn of your mother."

The younger Yaoyorozu pointed down at him and responded, "And if she finds out you are fleeing it will be that much worse for the both of us."

"A risk I am willing to take my girl," the short man then sat down on the window sill and applied a clear substance from the squeezable tube onto his hands. He then put his hands together, and blue sparks emitted from them, which changed the color of the liquid to white. The short man then looked up at his mostly confused audience and stated, "Well it's been fun, I'm sad we couldn't chat longer. Good luck with the rest of your studying and respective sleepovers tonight." He then climbed down from the window which got everyone but Momo and Makoto to rush to it and see what was happening. Whatever was on his hands was allowing his to stick to the outside wall, sparks could be seen on his hands as he would detach one hand at a time to lower himself. He would then use his quirk to again make the mysterious substance sticky again to cling to the wall. The descending man looked up and said, "Don't give away my position, hurry and close the window please!"

They all took a step back, and Yasumura closed the window before any of the students could do it. He then said in a severe voice, "I recommend you all take a seat, the lady of the house is probably just around the corner."

Everyone did as asked and just as Makoto went to close the door, a woman stepped into the doorway. Standing a few inches taller than her daughter, the female was wearing a red qipao dress with golden embroidery and golden high heels. Like Momo had on earlier, a thin silver necklace was around her neck. Her hair was black with a band of grey on her left side, and it was done in the exact style her daughter had earlier. She looked displeased and turned to butler at her right and asked, "Yasumura-san why are you here? I thought I asked you to find my beloved."

"I'm sorry Yaoyorozu-dono for neglecting my duty you assigned me. I was passing by, and I thought I should inform your daughter and her guests that their lunch would be quite late today," Makoto explained as he gave a bow.

The lady of the house crossed her arms as she said, "Still no sign of him?"

Makoto shot a quick glance at everyone else in the room before responding, "No ma'am. I've already asked everyone one here, and they too haven't sighted him."

"Is that so," the tall woman said slowly as she began to approach the table. She stopped just before Tenya and asked, "You must be the class president Ida-san that my daughter works with."

The teen with glasses got up and bowed slightly as he replied, "Yes ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you."

With little emotion, she asked, "I hope she has been truthful about her successes in class."

Tenya raised his head and had a puzzled face as he replied, "Of course, she is the smartest in our grade, and these lessons she has provided have been insightful for everyone here, even me, who is just below her in grades."

In a condescending tone, the lady in red asked, "If she is the smartest among you then why does she not have your position?"

"Mother, I already told you our positions were determined by a vote amongst our classmates," Momo stated to argue.

The mother closed her eyes and sighed before responding, "Which is pointless. Positions of power should be chosen on one's merit, not a popularity contest."

This statement brought a silence to the room, as no one knew how to respond to her comment. Yasumura eventually cleared his throat and said, "I think we should continue looking for your husband, Yaoyorozu-dono."

The older Yaoyorozu gave a node before saying, "You are quite right." She turned to Ida and said, "Well I hope you and my daughter keep getting along Ida-san. Good day to you." She then made her way out of the room with Makoto right behind her.

After the door closed, Tenya sat down, and everyone let out a loud exhale. Ida then asked, "Did she just suggest what I think she suggested?"

Momo had a deep blush on her face as she responded, "Yeah, she does that often."

"It's like the rest of us weren't even here," Mashirao spoke up.

Ochako then stated, "Why was she acting like that?"

Yaoyorozu sat down before responding, "My mom knows of Ida-san's family and their influence. She sees him as a proper gentleman that I should be romantically interested in, for the sake of the family name."

Uraraka then shouted, "But Tenya's mine!"

Silence followed as everyone turned to her, and as Ochako realized what she just did went crimson, and so did Tenya. Tooru then got up and went over to shake the floating heroine. As she did this, Hagakure said, "That's right girl! Assert your dominance!" This act got Uraraka to groan at the situation.

Momo giggled and then said, "Don't worry Uraraka-san I'm not interested in him."

"Yeah, I know, I just got caught up in the moment is all," Ochako explained as Tooru hugged her. In a whiny tone, she then said, "Hagakure-san would you please stop."

The invisible girl let her go and responded, "Sorry, I'm just so excited that you're being assertive."

Izuku finally spoke up and said, "Hey what was that quirk your dad did earlier by the window Yaoyorozu-san?"

As Tooru sat down next to her boyfriend, she sighed and patted his back, "Typical Izuku being more interested in quirks than drama."

This got a laugh from everyone as Midoriya blushed from realizing his comment as being entirely off-topic to the current conversation. While it had been a big shock to see Momo's mother act as she did, her father's quirk had been in the back of his mind the whole time.

Once the tall girl caught her breath, she answered, "His quirk is called manipulate. My father can change the molecular structure of objects with his hands but it takes a certain amount of energy to start a reaction, and the more activation energy a reaction requires, the more it tires him. And because he can't harness the energy from his fat cells as I can he is limited with what he can manipulate. But like my quirk he needs to know the ins and out of every substance he works with." Once she finished, Izuku began writing everything she had said down.

Tenya then asked while making a gesture with his hands, "And what was that substance he put on his palms?"

Momo put a hand on her chin as she replied, "Something he designed himself, though he never tells me what it is. He usually uses that to show off his quirk to strangers when he isn't in my mom's presence. It's main purpose though is to escape my mom's wrath or just people he doesn't want to talk to. He's lucky my mother still doesn't know of its existence yet."

Curious in how Momo's quirk came to be, Izuku asked, "And what quirk does your mom possess?"

"She never named her quirk, but she can collect and remove cells plus chemicals from her body. I've only seen her use it to extract excess fat and alcohol. Because of that fact, I've never seen my mother gain weight or get drunk despite eating and drinking as much as she does," Momo explained with a bit of disgust at the last comment.

Mashirao then asked with a concerned tone, "Hey is everything okay between you and your mom?"

"I'd rather not go into that right now," Yaoyorozu replied sounding tired.

"That's cool, sorry I asked," the tailed teen said.

"It's fine, I'm not mad at you, just frustrated with her at the moment," Momo said as she sat up. She then continued before reaching the door, "I need a bathroom break, it will only be a few minutes."

After their tutor had left the room, Tooru then huffed, "Not the best time to ask that kind of question Ojiro-san."

After shrugging, Mashirao said, "What? I'm concerned about her well being; it's what friends do."

It surprised Izuku how much his tailed friend was warming up to Momo. Just weeks before he was being judgemental and wanted nothing to do with her.

Hagakure then argued, "That's fine, and all but this wasn't the best time to ask. You should have waited until we were back at school or something. A lot just happened you know?"

"Okay, okay I get it Hagakure-san. Maybe your right," Ojiro said in a defeated tone.

Tooru seemed to rub this in by saying, "Maybe I'm right? You know I'm right."

Mashirao just turned his head away from her and gave off a grunt.

Ochako's stomach then rumbled, which got everyone's attention. With a creeping blush on her face, she said, "Sorry but I'm famished. Yasumura-san never told us why our lunch is so late. Any idea what could be the hold-up?"

Her question was swiftly answered as the door swung open and Ari Ozama walked in with a cart full of food. "Sorry for the wait," she said softly as she rolled the cart in.

Uraraka then asked, "Why so late?"

"We ended up having more guests than we thought would come and our cook Sakurai-san had to prepare more meals which pushed back making your food," she explained in a quiet voice. Ozama then gave a small bow and said, "He wanted to come and apologize but is currently dealing with a mountain of dishes."

Ari then served pizza with Kobe beef (very high-quality & expensive meat from a specific breed of Japanese cattle) as a topping to everyone. As she passed around some slices, she apologized, "I'm sorry we couldn't serve you something more exquisite. We are low on ingredients after serving so many today."

Izuku was fine with what was being served. Kobe beef was costly, it was something he never got to try before. But now that Momo was absent from the room, he felt motivated to finally ask, "Excuse me miss, but Yaoyorozu-san has always acted oddly whenever food has been served. Is there a reason for that?" His question seemed to get a reaction from Mashirao.

The woman paused a second before answering, "The young master asked Sakurai-san to make simple lunches for your group these last couple weekends. Our head cook is well, very passionate about his job and thought it was beneath him to do so. I think the young master didn't want to come off as showing off to her friends."

Ojiro gave a soft grunt before grabbing a piece of pizza and taking a bite.

Izuku then replied, "Thanks, Ozama-san. I was just curious."

Ari gave a bow in response and then proceeded to pass out the last of the pizza before making her exit.

A few minutes later Momo came back and looked surprised at the food. Sure it was expensive, but since it was pizza, she seemed fine with the choice for once. Ochako told Momo why the food was late before she started digging into her large plate of food. Izuku guessed she was going to have combat training again with the head butler.

Once they had finished, and Ozama had returned to clean up, they started their discussion on experiences in battle since they started school. Before beginning, Momo stated they wouldn't need repeating what they did for the internship, minus Tenya and Izuku since she wanted more details about their encounter with Stain, as they had already discussed that at lunch some weeks ago. Also, she asked that the two boys mentioned previously to go last.

Mashirao volunteered to go first, which made sense, he was the one that suggested some form of studying for this portion of the exam. He first described the entrance exam. Ojiro told how he focused on destroying robots that were targeting fleeing participants. With them distracted, they were easy points, plus he got to help people that were struggling.

Midoriya felt that it fit his tailed friend's personality to help other participants even though it was just a test. This also reminded Izuku when Yuga Aoyama had saved him from one of the robots during the exam. Had he done it to help? Or to show off? Yuga was a hard one to read sometimes, his actions and behavior seemed to contradict at times.

Mashirao continued by retelling his adventures during the hero invasion, how he got teleported to the conflagration zone and had only survived the onslaught of villains with hit-and-run tactics as he was no good fighting so many at once, even if they were weak, and his eventual rescue by the pro hero Power Loader. When it came to the Hero Festival, he just wanted to talk about the obstacle race for obvious reasons but stated that he used his tail to propel himself forward for a speed boost. He explained he wasn't built to be a sprinter, but his quick thinking to utilize his quirk in a new way did get him in eleventh place out of over a hundred students.

Tooru then said she'd be okay going next.

How his girlfriend had passed the entrance exam did intrigue Izuku, as going from her strength alone, how could she destroy the robots on her own?

The invisible girl explained that she quickly realized the mechanical monstrosities could see her despite her quirk and didn't know why.

Tenya spoke up that they probably had thermal instruments that could follow her heat signatures.

Either way, Hagakure was dodging their attacks as she fled their assault but soon learned that the robots weren't above friendly fire to pursue their target. She then used this to her advantage; she would sneak up to one and climb it. Another robot would then attack her and destroy the robot she was on in the process.

While incredible dangerous, Midoriya found the tactic to be quite brilliant, her acrobatics and reflexes would have needed to be top notch to pull off riding and getting off the robots before they would get destroyed if she didn't get injured during the whole ordeal.

Tooru then recounted her time during the villain invasion as mostly just hiding and dodging Todoroki's ice attacks as he fought villains. When it came to the Hero Festival, she seemed a bit down. While Hagakure was indeed fast, she got stuck behind crowds of people at almost every obstacle, and she said the minefield had spooked her and she crossed it at a much slower pace. She stated that she wished should have been the front of the pack at the start of the race, then maybe she would have placed better than 36th place, just above the cutoff point of forty.

Momo cleared her throat before speaking. To everyone's, but Tenya, surprise, she revealed that she had gotten into U.A. with a scholarship. So she immediately went into discussing her fights at the unforeseen simulation joint. Yaoyorozu went into detail about how she worked with Jiro and Kaminari against groups of villains using teamwork. Her tone shifted to a more somber one once she started talking about the Hero Festival. Momo was disgusted by Minoru, who hitched a ride on her during the end of the race, which she placed in seventeenth. Her voice was a bit merrier when she talked about the cavalry battle, as they had placed in first. But she seemed disappointed again when retelling her loss to Fumikage during the first round of the tournament. The tall girl said she wasn't able to produce anything fast enough with her quirk before being attacked by Tokoyami's Dark Shadow. She seemed upset from the loss but quickly calmed herself and asked Ochako to go next.

Uraraka explained how she got points during the entrance exam by sneaking up to robots and having them float high enough in the air so that their fall would destroy them. She then praised Izuku for his rescue by destroying the "thwomp," though he was quick to also thank her for saving him from falling to death. Ochako then proceeded to also praise Tenya for saving her from being teleported away during the villain invasion. She had convinced Ida to escape, against his wishes to stay and help, and contact pro heroes for a rescue. The zero-gravity heroine also explained that with her quirk she was able to move the injured body of their homeroom teacher to safety. Staying ahead of the pack was what Uraraka credited to placing in sixteenth place during the obstacle race. She was open about her dislike of Mei Hatsume's behavior for all the events, which Izuku found odd but didn't think it was appropriate to ask at the time. Her match against Katsuki seemed like a sore subject for Ochako to bring up, but she was able to discuss it analytically with her friends on why she lost.

Tenya decided to get up and ask Tooru to move so he could sit next to Izuku before speaking, which she was happy to do. Instead of focusing on the high number of points that he received at the entrance exam he wanted to be upfront with everyone that he too was offered a scholarship to enter U.A. but turned it down to prove to himself that he deserved to enter the school. He placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder as he praised his selfless act for saving Ochako, and also subverting the point of the exam, explaining how Midoriya had passed even with zero points. Ida discussed his inner turmoil of needing to stay behind to protect his classmates as a duty of the class president, but also of Uraraka's logic that he should be the one to escape and alert the pro heroes. He seemed frustrated that he placed sixth in the first event of the Hero Festival despite the nature of his quirk, but he pointed out not everything is about speed, after all. The class president again turned towards Midoriya to exalt him for placing first place using just his wits. Tenya seemed mixed about the cavalry battle, while on the one hand, he had placed first, he also felt sorry for leaving his friend to fend for himself and thanked Ochako for having the courage to do what he couldn't. Ida, like Uraraka, was quick to detail his disdain for Mei using him as a pitch for her products during their match in the tournament. He then mentioned that his plan to quickly knock Todoroki out of the ring during their match was flawed and perhaps should have tried to tire him out by keeping his distance with superior speed.

Momo then asked for Izuku to have his say before Tenya could discuss his run-in with Stain. Midoriya agreed and while hesitant to say it, revealed that he was quirkless before applying to their school and that he had obtained his quirk the day of the entrance exam to everyone but Tooru's surprise. He didn't go into his training before school, however, as for now, he still wanted to keep that a secret. Midoriya then detailed his time spent with Asui and Mineta after being teleported away while at the unforeseen simulation joint. Izuku already felt he had been praised enough during the first event of the Hero Festival and instead discussed his tactics during the cavalry battle and his reasoning behind his bravado against Shoto in the tournament. He needed to expose all that Todoroki had told him about his family in order to get the point across that the student needed saving. The group listened to his explanation with baited breath. Midoriya thought it would be essential to bring up that Recovery Girl had refused to heal him again if he hurt himself in such a way again as well. He was sure to mention how he had relied on her healing too much, which forced him to come up with Full Cowl.

Once Midoriya had finished, Ida adjusted his glasses and began explaining his plan to seek revenge against Stain. After some research, he chose the pro hero Manual for his internship as his hero office was closest to where the Hero Killer had been sighted and attacked heroes out of the entire list of possible pro heroes he was given. The class president would have preferred a more high profile pro hero to work under, to increase his chance of being confronted by the murderer but the well-known hero's patrolled elsewhere. Ida then paused his story to bring up the futility of revenge and compared it to Todoroki's turmoils as an example of why it just hurt oneself and everyone around you for one's selfish purposes. He then turned it over to Izuku explain how he found them.

Izuku knew Mashirao and Tooru knew this already but explained anyway. He stated that he had learned from the news that Stain had a high rate of ambushing heroes in blind spots from places like back alleys and after making his way to near the agency, it was only a matter of time before he would find the Hero Killer by narrowing his search. Midoriya made a point that if Stain had fought seriously at the beginning, both he and Ida would have been dead before Todoroki could arrive. He continued this point by saying even when the Hero Killer fought seriously, only the combined effort of the three could bring him down.

The last conversation had brought down the mood in the room, but Momo eventually broke the silence by saying, "What you three did might have broken about every rule I can think of. But in the end, no one was killed. Be that luck or a testament to your skills the three of you could have gotten off so much worse than you did." Tenya and Izuku could only give a simple nod in response. The tall girl then called for the end of their study session.

Everyone began to put their materials away and chatted about the sleepovers that would soon be happening. Before the boys made their leave to Tenya's home, Mashirao approached Momo and said with an outstretched hand, "Yaoyorozu-san, thanks for letting us have this talk instead of studying. It meant a lot to me."

She shook his hand and said, "You're welcome but I'm sorry I couldn't do more for us to prepare for the practical part of our final."

They parted hands, and Ojiro replied, "It's fine, and you're right though. The rest will be up to ourselves." He then turned around and joined the guys as they left the room.

* * *

The trio had recently left the subway station and was making their way down a busy part of town. They eventually made their way to a fancy and large townhome in a quieter part of the neighborhood.

Mashirao then said, "So this is the place?"

As they stopped at the front door Tenya replied, "Yep, home sweet home."

Ojiro then stated, "It's nice to see you aren't in a mansion."

Ida adjusted his specs as he explained, "Oh, we have one of those, but my grandparents live there at the moment. We all used to be there when my brothers and I were younger."

Both of the other boys got a reaction out of this, but Izuku was the one to say, "Brothers? As in plural?"

"Yeah, I have four total," Tenya responded like it wasn't a big deal.

"That's a pretty big family," Mashirao said while scratching the back of his head.

Ida began to unlock the door, before saying, "Don't worry. It's not going to be that crowded. It should just be my older brother Tensei and my parents tonight; I made sure of that." He then opened the door to reveal a comfy looking entrance way with nick-nacks all over the walls.

As the three walked in Tensei wheeled in on a wheelchair from a room on the right looking exhausted. He was wearing white pants and a buttoned-up light blue shirt with black slippers. Izuku swore he looked almost exactly like his younger brother minus his lack of glasses and age.

"Evening boys," the older Ida said as he came to a stop.

In a worried tone, Tenya said, "Tensei you shouldn't be pushing yourself. You just came home from the hospital."

Leaning back into his wheelchair, the older brother replied, "You worry too much bro. I might not be able to be a pro-hero anymore, but I wanna at least be able to get around on my own. So I gotta get myself back into shape somehow even if it's just a little at a time." The younger Ida just groaned in response. Tensei then crossed his arms before saying, "By the way, mom and dad won't be here tonight."

The class president let out a sigh before asking, "Work holding them up again?"

While rubbing his temple, the disabled man said, "Yep, their office merger with Team Idaten has been troublesome."

Intrigued, Izuku spoke up, "Isn't that your agency, sir?"

"It was, Midoriya-san," the older brother replied with melancholy. "Because the large number of sidekicks I had I didn't want to disband my office as it would put too many of them out of work so I discussed the idea with my folks to just take them all in. However, there's been a mountain of paperwork to go through, even from my end despite my career as a hero being over." He then wheeled forward and stopped right in front of the green haired teen with an outstretched hand and stated, "It's nice to meet you finally." The two shook hands and after they parted the older Ida turned towards the tailed hero and said, "And you must be Mashirao Ojiro."

While also shaking his hand, Mashirao responded with, "Yes, sir. I guess your younger brother has mentioned us before?"

After the shake, Tensei explained, "Yeah once I got injured I had a lot of free time to catch up with my little bro with his school work and friends. You all sound like an interesting bunch alright."

Tenya then put down his backpack by the stairs in the entrance way and said, "Well we best get going to get some food Tensei." The younger Ida turned towards his tailed friend and asked, "Mind joining me Ojiro-san? Just of the two of us should be enough."

A bit apprehensively, Ojiro responded with, "Sure. But what's wrong with Midoriya-kun just tagging along with us?"

"I just wanna chat between the two of us if that's okay," Tenya responded with the emphasis on the word chat.

The tailed teen still had a perplexed look on his face but shrugged and asked, "You okay with that Midoriya-kun?"

Izuku figured that whatever his friend wanted to discuss was private and nodded in approval.

"Fine by me then," Mashirao stated.

"We shouldn't be too long Midoriya-kun. My room is just upstairs on the right if you wanna wait up there and have a look around," the younger Ida said as he opened the door before stepping outside with Ojiro behind him.

Izuku was curious at what the two could be chatting about that needed to private. He hoped that he could instead have some alone time with Tenya so he could bring up the idea of working together to get more info out of Mashirao about his dad. Regardless, he now stood in the entrance to the home with Tensei at his side.

"If you would rather talk with me Midoriya-san while you wait, then just follow me," the injured man said as he wheeled into the room to the right.

As Midoriya followed, another idea slipped into his mind. Perhaps his Tenya had wanted his brother to talk with him and the chat with Mashirao was just a ruse.

Either way, Tensei gestured to a black leather sofa, and Izuku sat down and put down his backpack to the side. Tensei leaned back into his wheelchair before starting the conversation with, "So how goes your study sessions with your vice president?"

"They've been very informative on many fronts. I've learned a bit academically, but much more about my friends Yaoyorozu-san and Ojiro-kun," Midoriya explained.

With satisfaction within his voice, Ida replied, "I'm happy to hear that it's been a good bonding experience for you and your friends. At first, I found it odd that my bro was going to them, as his grades are already excellent as is, but I failed to consider the social angle of it all." He let out a sigh before continuing, "Did you know my little bro used to have a hard time making friends?"

"No, sir," Izuku said with shock.

After a chuckle, Tensei explained, "If you thought my bro is a bit serious at times you should have seen him in primary school. I swear he sometimes acted like a robot, though his hand gestures didn't help his image in that regard."

The green haired teen held back a chuckle of his own, at the mental image of such a situation playing out.

The injured man continued, "But he's been mellowing out a lot these last couple of months. Whether that be because of you and your friends, or specifically his girlfriend I don't know, but it's been a noticeable change."

Midoriya went wide-eyed at the last statement and then asked, "They're a c-couple now?"

"No, but they might as well be. My bro really loves that girl you know, he's just letting his feelings about hero work get in the way of things," Ida replied with a shrug.

Intrigued, Izuku asked another question, "What do you mean by hero work?"

"He's conflicted about his school work and eventual career affecting their relationship. It's not about if them going out will affect his grades but instead the possibility of his work ethic hindering their relationship," Tensei explained with a hand on his chin. He then continued by saying, "I say he just confess to Uraraka-san and just deal with the baggage it might bring later. She seems like a nice girl from what I could tell when she visited me in the hospital. He's had terrible luck with women in the past, why not go with the one that actually cares about him and not the family's money or popularity for once."

The injured man's explanation resurfaced, in Midoriya's mind, Momo's mother's behavior from earlier in the day. Was this that common in the world of the wealthy? Were such people drawn to each other with the singular purpose of fame and fortune? That's not love, that's just the want of one's cash and status, he thought. Did Tenya ever have this happen? Momo had experienced the same thing with the boys she invited to study with her that she was interested in. Said guys were not interested in learning from her, but of getting closer to her for the benefits that her family would bring. Midoriya was starting to wonder, did anyone in his group of friends have a normal childhood, including himself? What even is a normal childhood these days? Either way, he was glad they were all friends, so the could rely upon one another when the other was down.

"So this is the fabled mumbling that my bro has told me about," Tensei said with interest.

Izuku cleared his throat before replying, "Sorry it just happens sometimes when I'm in deep thought."

"It's cool; I found it hard to believe when my bro told me about it. But seeing it in action has me a believer now," Ida said with a big grin. Midoriya gave an awkward chuckle as a response. Tensei then switched to a more serious tone as he stated, "Anyways, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart Midoriya-san for helping out my little brother during his time of need both when he was attacked by the Hero Killer and after the fact."

The green haired teen figured that Tenya had told his brother about what happened in the back of the gym that one day. Either way, he replied, "No problem sir. A true hero helps people in need even if they don't want it."

The injured man continued his firm voice as he said, "Just remember you aren't an actual hero yet. What you did was quite reckless against Stain, but in the end, everything turned out fine, just keep that in mind in the future. Continue with following those words you just said though and I bet you could be a hero to rival All Might in ideals at least one day."

Midoriya gave a slight blush of pride as he gave firm nod before he heard the front door open.

Tenya and Mashirao walked in with four bags of food and some drinks.

"That was fast," Izuku said as he stood up.

The younger Ida replied, "I ordered the food before we got here. All we needed to do was pick it up." The two that just entered placed the food in the kitchen before Tenya turned around and said, "You two can head up to the room. I'll prepare the food and I also need to help my brother to bed."

Mashirao and Izuku made for the stairs, but before the green haired boy climbed them, he turned to Tensei and said, "Thanks for keeping me company sir. Good night."

The older Ida just gave a soft wave before Midoriya made his way up to the younger Ida's room. Both teens entered it with mixed reactions. On the left side Tenya had many pairs of glasses take up at least half the wall, and on the right was bookshelf after bookshelf of books. Most of the books looked academic, but in the far right corner, Izuku spotted a shelf with just comic books and manga. Everything was neat, orderly, and spotless. The only hint of a mess was his desk, which had notes from class unevenly stacked on top of each other. Finally, at the end of the left side of the room, a huge TV was mounted on the wall. Midoriya guessed it had to be at least a meter and a half across.

"This room is Ida-kun's alright," Ojiro said finally breaking the silence as they looked over the room.

"Uh-huh," was all Midoriya could say. That was the first time he had heard his tailed friend add that honorific to Tenya's name, he realized. However, the green haired teen soon collected his thoughts and asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what did Ida-kun want to talk to you in private about?"

Mashirao sat down at his desk as he said, "Oh, that? He just wanted to ask for some advice about Uraraka-san."

In a worried tone, Izuku asked, "Is everything okay?"

The tailed teen slowly began to spin in the chair using his tail as he replied, "Yeah. It's just Uraraka-san has been a bit more, assertive lately. Ida-kun described it as, increased physical contact."

Midoriya tried his hardest to hold back a laugh but failed, and his fit of laughter confused Ojiro as he stopped spinning in the chair. To think that Tenya would use his own words to describe the situation was just too funny not to react.

Still baffled at the reaction, the tailed teen asked, "You okay man?"

After a couple of breaths, the green haired teen replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. But anyways, while we still have time, how did you respond to Ida-kun?"

Bluntly, Mashirao explained, "I told him to man up. He's got a cute girl that's interested in him, and he should be happy she wants to be closer to him."

"I see," Izuku said softly, and while he began to ponder the tailed friend's advice, Tenya walked in carrying a tray of chicken wings. He put them on a coffee table in front of the TV and took off a different backpack than the one he brought to the study session. As he took out drinks in liter size from his backpack he asked, "So what do you all think my room?"

"Why the hell do you have so many glasses dude," Mashirao said rapidly.

Ida continued to calmly remove plastic plates and cups from his backpack as he explained, "You would be surprised how often I get my glasses broken when training. I got tired of having to wait for a new pair each time I broke one, so I just got a bunch to eliminate that problem. It helps to be prepared for anything."

Ojiro put his hands up in the air as a sign of defeat and sighed.

Midoriya however, asked, "That's a lot of school books you have Ida-kun. But I noticed you have some comics and manga as well."

A slight blush crept onto the tall teen's face as he replied, "I'll admit I like to read an action-packed piece of literature from time to time to pump me up."

"Speaking of being pumped up, I bought the movie we agreed upon Tenya-kun," Mashirao proudly stated.

"Good, it will give us something to do as we eat and drink," Tenya said as he grabbed a plate of wings and sat on his bed.

Confused at what was going on, Izuku asked, "When did this agreement happen?"

Ida responded, "Ojiro-kun and I discussed this after class on Friday. We wanted to include you too, but you were busy conversing with Hagakure-san."

Midoriya was satisfied with the explanation and then sat down at the coffee table. He then noticed four distinct flavors of chicken wings: teriyaki, honey chipotle, salt & pepper dry rub, and jalapeno. The green haired boy decided on teriyaki and jalapeno and grabbed some as his tailed friend started the movie.

For the next two hours, the boys happily enjoyed their food and drinks as they watched the movie. It surprised Izuku that he had never seen this flick before, perhaps because it was over a century old. The aged CGI was the dead give away, but it was still an enjoyable movie. Of course, it was hero themed, a team-up specifically. It started with solo heroes unable to handle a new threat and needed to team up to defeat it. A typical plot device but Midoriya it mainly liked it because of its characters.

While alone they seemed onenote, together they played off one another really well. Mashirao was very vocal during the action scenes, which sometimes startled Izuku since the tailed teen had continued to sit in the chair at the Tenya's desk and his reactions were exaggerated by being in the chair. Ida himself was mostly quiet save for pointing a few inconsistencies in the film's plot and logic, but it didn't bother the other two boys.

At the end of the movie, Mashirao stood up and looked rearing to go and said, "Man I feel like I could fight a villain right here and now, movies like this always pumped me up as a little kid."

Tenya then spoke up, "Might I suggest something to release some steam then?"

Curious at the offer, Ojiro asked, "What do you have in mind?"

"How about we arm wrestle? It's simple but can accomplish what you wish. Besides I've been curious on how I stand in strength between you guys," Ida explained. Izuku too had pondered how he compared with his classmates, though with Full Cowl. But he didn't want to use it for something like this.

The tailed teen took a moment to ponder the idea before nodding and saying, "I'd be down with that."

Midoriya was quick to add, "If it's okay with you guys I'd rather not use my quirk."

Both Tenya and Mashirao replied at the same time, "Sure."

The trio then cleaned off the coffee table to serve as their dueling arena. Ojiro was quick to volunteer himself to go first, and Ida gladly accepted his challenge. However before they began, Mashirao removed his shirt and sat down ready to go.

Ida said while tilting his head as he asked, "Why did you do that?"

Ojiro shot him an index finger and replied, "Cause it's a battle of muscle is why."

Tenya leaned forward before saying, "You're making this weird Ojiro-kun."

The tailed teen punched his fist into his palm as he argued, "It's not weird, it's fun. Now come on, dude! Get in the spirit of it!"

Ida grunted before taking his shirt off and joining him at the table. Izuku noted that both his friends were well built, but the tailed teen was more muscular than his taller opponent. The tall teen then put his right elbow on the table to get in position and said, "How about first to three wins? And we do both arms okay?"

Mashirao grasped Tenya's hand before saying, "Sounds good to me. Let's go!"

It was complete shutout for Ojiro. He won three times in a row for each arm. Tenya asked for a few minutes to catch his breath before going against Izuku. The short teen was hesitant to take off his shirt, but his friends eventually convinced him. It was a tie between Izuku and Tenya. Izuku won three to one on his right arm, and Ida three to two for his left. Before Ojiro sat down to try a go with Midoriya, the tailed teen asked, "Izuku I want you to use Full Cowl against me."

Midoriya tried to argue, "But Ojiro-kun I thought we-."

"I want to beat you at your best," Mashirao interrupted. He then continued, "I want a challenge! And Ida-kun didn't provide that for me." Ojiro then turned to Ida and said, "No offense man."

Tenya crossed his arms before replying, "None taken Ojiro-kun. My true strength lies with my legs anyhow. I didn't expect much from myself just from using my arms. I was just curious how I fared against you two without my quirk."

Izuku didn't know why he was having this feeling of wanting to say yes within himself when he just previously had the opposite desire. Perhaps it was because he wanted to satisfy his tailed friend or maybe because it was he wanted to see how Full Cowl compared in strength to his classmates, even if it was just arm wrestling. Either way, the green haired teen finally answered by saying, "Okay, I'll use it, but that means I want to you go all out as well."

Mashirao nodded before assuming the position. Izuku then clasped his friend's right hand and activated Full Cowl at five percent. The two counted down from three, and the first round for the right arm began.

Immediately Ojiro almost ended the round, as Midoriya's arm was just an inch from the table. For about a minute the inheritor for All for One slowly brought his arm back to its original position. The two held the position for a few moments before Midoriya's endurance faltered and lost the first round.

He was quick to return his arm for the next round. This time he braced himself for the beginning and was able to hold even with Ojiro for a couple of minutes before again losing his concentration. Before going for another try Izuku admitted to himself that outlasting his tailed friend wasn't going to happen, he just didn't have the experience yet with using his quirk. But he instead decided just to try and push himself in a single burst.

And it worked, the third round was over immediately, the burst lasted for less than a second, but he had finally beaten Mashirao. As the tailed teen shook his hand a bit, Midoriya felt that brief moment of Full Cowl wasn't five percent, but more. Before he could ponder this thought more, Ojiro was ready for round four.

This time the tailed hero was able to hold off Izuku's increased strength for a few seconds before succumbing to his might. Midoriya was struggling to maintain this advanced Full Cowl; it was taking all he had to do so and was panting because of it. However, he was still determined to finish this and brought his arm up one last time for the final round. This time the two remained in the starting position for a few seconds, but to the green haired teen's surprise, Mashirao was gaining the upper hand as he slowly brought his hand downward. The struggle only lasted a moment before Izuku lost control and came out of Full Cowl. His hand was then slammed onto the table.

"That was intense," Tenya said with a look of shook.

As the defeated teen rubbed his hand, he said, "Yeah it was. You ready for some rounds with our left arms Ojiro-kun?"

The tailed teen shook both his hands before replying, "Nah dude; we're both bushed. Besides, I'm ambidextrous, and you're obviously right-handed. It would just be my win."

Izuku was not against ending it there. His right arm hurt like hell, and couldn't see himself using his quirk again to such a level in such a short time. Now that had some time to think it over, he gauged that he had used about eight percent of his quirk's power. In no way was it usable in battle at this point, but it was progression. What really surprised Midoriya though was how strong his tailed friend was. He thought, if he's that strong even without his quirk, how much strength does his tail have?

Mashirao broke the silence by stating, "But man, now that I'm up close to you when you use your quirk, your Full Cowl looks kind of cool."

But before Midoriya could respond, all the boy's phones vibrated.

Ojiro rubbed the back of his head as he said, "Who could that be?"

The trio then grabbed their phones to see what was going on.

Blank: Evening boys! Hope you're having as much fun as we gals are having!

Mashirao gave a grunt before vigorously typing a message.

Lion: Okay what gives? You're up to something Hagakure-san.

A minute passed before a message with a picture was posted.

Blank: Just wanted to give you boys a little taste of what you are missing!

The picture had all the boys go wide-eyed. It had all three girls around a round table that had cake on it. The cake had white frosting but was covered with a variety of fruit including strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi. A few slices had already been cut and looked partially eaten on plates to the side of the cake.

But that wasn't the kicker here. The girl's themselves was the scandalous part.

Tooru was on the front left, indicating that she had taken a selfie. She wasn't obscuring much of course because of her invisible head. But because of the angle of the photo, her back bra strap was exposed. It was blue, just like yesterday. Izuku hated that he remembered that detail. Momo and Ochako both looked to be trying to grab Tooru's phone.

Yaoyorozu was wearing the same pajamas Midoriya had seen the morning of the first study session, the white one with all the atomic symbols. Except here she had it buttoned down enough to show a decent amount of cleavage.

And finally, Uraraka was the worst offender. She was wearing an oversized white T-shirt but was wearing no bottoms. At all. And again because of the angle of the shot, it revealed more than it should have. Ochako's black panties were showing. The shirt obscured most of it, but the action of trying to grab the phone left her left thigh and her underwear exposed on that side.

After a few seconds of trying to process what he was seeing, a crash stopped Izuku's train of thought. Tenya had fallen off his bed head first. Midoriya quickly went over and asked, "Are you okay Ida-kun?"

The fallen teen slowly groaned, "No." A few seconds passed before he continued in a muffled voice since his face was planted in the carpet, "I don't know how you can handle Hagakure-san, Midoriya-kun."

The green haired teen gave an awkward chuckle before helping his friend up and saying, "Yeah I'm surprised myself sometimes."

Once they were both in standing position, the pair looked over at Mashirao. He was still staring at his phone and was typing away. In a curious tone, Tenya asked, "What are saying to them Ojiro-kun?"

Just then the tailed teen finished typing and stated with a mischievous smile, "Just giving the girls a treat as well."

Izuku and Tenya gulped and immediately grabbed their phones again to see that Mashirao had posted a message and picture on the group chat.

Lion: The guys are having our fair share of fun as well ladies.

Ojiro had taken a selfie as well. It showed him flexing his bicep with Midoriya hovering over Ida after the latter had fallen off his bed in the background. The boys were all still shirtless which meant it showed a good amount of Izuku's physique, but only Tenya's back was exposed. As both boys mouths were agape at what just happened, another message came up.

Lion: And by the way, next time you take a picture, take a GOOD look at it before you upload it.

Mashirao then tossed his phone on Ida's bed before walking over to put a shirt on.

Tenya could only ask slowly, "But why?"

Ojiro shrugged and said, "It's all in good fun. I felt we needed to give them something in return. Besides, that picture Hagakure-san sent us was much more revealing than what I sent." After becoming fully clothed, the tailed teen asked, "So what do you all want to do next?"

Ida plopped down on his bed and let out a long sigh before answering, "I just wanna sleep now. I don't want to think what the girls will say in their response."

"Oh, I don't think we'll have to worry about hearing anything from them tonight. I doubt Hagakure-san looked at her picture before sending it; she was probably too busy trying to escape the other girls from taking her phone when she posted it. They should be too embarrassed to respond, especially after what I just posted on top of that," Mashirao explained proudly.

Tenya looked too tired to argue and said, "Whatever." He then got up and got dressed, as did Izuku. The tall teen went to his closet and took out two foldable cots. The boys set them up after cleaning their mess from eating and moved the table to the side of the room to make room for their beds for the night. As Ida grabbed some blankets and pillows, he asked, "Before we call it a night, do you mind telling us how your date during Hagakure-san's birthday went Midoriya-kun?"

The question gave pause to Izuku, but after a deep breath he replied, "S-Sure, just give me a minute."

After the two got comfortable in their cots, and Ida turned off the lights, Midoriya then explained his day to his friends. He again told the whole story in detail, minus his encounter with Eraserhead and the more personal details of Tooru that he had learned since meeting her. Izuku also explained his training before the entrance exam, again saying his 'uncle' had helped him clean the beach. This was the third time he had to tell this, but it still got him emotional when talking about it. Once he finished his account, however, the green haired teen heard a sniffle to his right. It was Tenya.

Mashirao spoke up, "You okay over there?"

The tall teen cleared his throat before responding, "Sorry, it's just that was really sweet. It got to me."

"True. A bit too sweet for my tastes but whatever, it got Izuku his girl, so I ain't complaining," Ojiro said as he shifted around in his cot.

Midoriya grinned before saying, "Thanks, guys." After gushing as much as he did, he felt this would be the best time to ask his tailed friend the question that had been bugging him for half the week. Izuku turned over to Mashirao's cot and asked, "Ojiro-kun, I know it's personal but could you tell us more about your dad's condition?"

For a few seconds there was no response, but after a soft groan, Mashirao responded with, "Look I think I know what you're getting at here, but I'm fine. My dad might be pretty sick, but he isn't gonna die anytime soon from his disease. I've still got plenty of years to spend with him before things go south and when that times come, I'll be ready to deal with it. Can we just leave it like that for now, please?"

It still surprised Midoriya that Ojiro was so good at reading people's emotions. He was able to guess that Izuku was worried for him because of his father's condition. Midoriya wasn't entirely convinced that Ojiro was completely okay with it but he didn't want to pry further into the conversation and said, "I won't say anymore. I was just worried about you, you know?"

"It's cool Izuku, and I appreciate the concern, but I'm just not comfortable talking about it all yet," Ojiro replied in a tired voice.

"Well on that note, I suggest we get some shut-eye," Tenya said with a sleepy tone.

Mashirao, however, spoke up and said, "Not yet! Midoriya-kun and I have said something; you need to as well Ida-kun!"

Ida shifted in his bed before replying, "You really didn't say much of anything Ojiro-kun, but fine. What do you want to know about me?"

"What I wanna know more about, is you and Uraraka-san," the tailed teen said bluntly.

The tall teen was quick to respond with, "H-How so?"

Mashirao got up and asked, "Do you wanna be her boyfriend or not?"

Tenya tried to deflect the subject by stating, "This isn't the time to discuss-."

"Dude just ask Izuku already," Ojiro interrupted.

After letting out a sigh, Ida explained, "I don't want to bother Midoriya-kun with this, he already has a lot on his plate dealing with Hagakure-san now that they are a couple. This is why I wanted to talk to you alone about this earlier when we left to get food."

Mashirao was quick to rebuttal, "And I'm saying Izuku can handle it and would give better advice than I ever could since he actually has a girlfriend, you know?"

Izuku finally spoke up and said, "Whatever it is, I'd be happy to help Ida-kun." While his tailed friend and Tensei had already given him a gist of what was going on, he wanted to hear it from his class president.

Tenya sat up and leaned against the wall near his bed before saying, "You two sure are persistent tonight." He crossed his arms before continuing, "I don't know if it's because Uraraka-chan has been inspired by Hagakure-san confessing to you Midoriya-kun, or maybe it's just because she's just ready to get closer to me, but she has been much more affectionate as of late. Simple hugs and kisses on the cheek have evolved into o-other things. We had a date yesterday, and that's when she did said t-things to me."

Even in the dark, Izuku guessed that Tenya was blushing hard at the moment. He then asked, "Do you not like it?"

"Of course I like it, it f-feels g-great but that besides the point," Ida replied. He then took a breath and cleared his throat before explaining, "I've already told you I wanna enjoy what I have with her more before taking it further. But to tell you the truth I'm just conflicted in how a relationship could work in the kind of career we are pursuing at our age. I guess I'm just afraid to commit to her knowing the fact that maintaining a healthy relationship will be difficult and I don't want to go further into this if there is a chance that this falls apart and I hurt her because of it."

Ojiro then argued, "And it's because she finally kissed you on the mouth a few times that this issue came out? Sorry, it just sounds like an excuse to me. This is some deep stuff to consider. You had to have thought about this before she got more intimate with you."

Before Tenya could respond to Mashirao's counterpoint, Izuku said, "Ojiro-kun, I thought you wanted me to handle this. Let me help."

"Sorry, you're right. Go ahead." the tailed teen said with a grunt.

After a sigh Midoriya stated, "Alright then, I need some time to think, so give me a minute." As his tailed friend said, this was some serious stuff. Izuku was surprised that the pair was already as intimate as they were, despite still not being a couple. Even he and his girlfriend were still quite tame in their interactions, he thought. But back to the matter at hand, the green haired boy never considered the difficulty of maintaining his bond with Tooru concerning their desired profession in life. Their hero work could indeed later get in the way of their relationship. Whether this is because of having conflicting ideas about heroics, being so overworked that they don't have time to spend with one another, or whatever happens once they go pro the boy couldn't tell. There was a lot to consider, especially since they were still first years in hero training, so there was a long and unknown road ahead of them. But something more simple came to Midoriya's mind as he pondered a possible solution.

Izuku then explained, "You know, we're still teenagers Ida-kun. Our lives aren't over if we end up having to break-up with the ones we love. And as much as it pains me to admit that, considering that I just got a girlfriend, it's just a part of growing up. So, knowing that, I say you take the chance with Uraraka-chan and hope for the best. If things fall apart, use it as a learning experience for the next girl that might come along. I'd rather try and fail then never to give it a chance and regret what might have been."

Izuku's answer left both his friend's silent for a minute. As he twiddled his thumbs as a way to pass the awkward silence, he wondered if his logic came off as too cold.

Eventually, Tenya replied, "I really can't argue with that. We are after all just fifteen, what am I getting so worked up about."

"Remember I'm sixteen now and so will Izuku in a few weeks," Mashirao added jokingly.

With a soft chuckle, Ida replied, "Heh, you're right Ojiro-kun, but my point stands regardless. I'm a teen; I should embrace that for now while I still can." Tenya then laid back in his bed before saying, "Thanks for everything you two. And good night."

"Anytime," Mashirao proudly replied.

"Happy to help," Izuku stated before yawning.

The trio hastily fell asleep as their long day together finally came to a close.

* * *

 **Well, I gotta apologize once again. First, for being late in releasing this chapter, even if it's was only by a couple of hours. One reason for this was that it was a difficult chapter to write, as there was a lot I wanted to cover and the content itself. The second reason was me playing a lot of Super Mario Oddesy, which came out Friday (sorry this game is just that amazing) which limited my time to work on this last weekend. The other reason is that I, yet again, underestimating how much I wanted to cover before getting to a key event. I mean it's cool that I get to flesh out scenes more than I originally planned but it pushes back this side story climax another two weeks. For sure next chapter will bring Mashirao front and center, as well as have us rejoin the manga for a bit (the week before the final exams).**

 **I surprisingly wrote a majority of this during the games between the Astros and Dodgers for the World Series. Even though I was interrupted multiple times to watch it, it was odd as the hype of it all made it easy and quick to write during those hours. I'm originally from southwest of Houston(now live Northwest of Houston), so I'm rooting for dem Astros. Those last three innings of game two were tense as hell! Also almost finished writing this during game five yesterday, which was an even more wild game (second longest World Series game ever, and broke the record for the most home runs for a World Series). Just one more game to win it all!**

 **Well hey, I hit over 100k words with the release of this chapter, (Yes that's true even if cut all my long-winded author notes from each chapter). That means I've joined the small pool of 100k+ word fics for this series on this site, as there's only thirteen out of 3k fics (on AO3 there only 23 fics that are +100k, but there's over 8.5k fics there). This milestone brings up something I haven't discussed yet, and that is the overall planned length of this story. As of now, I plan for this fic to follow this manga till it ends, even though that's many years off. Of course, eventually, I will catch up to the manga (I'm about to pass the anime in three chapters), and when I do expect chapter releases to slow down considerably. Most likely I'll wait for an arc to play out. Then release a few chapters to cover it and anytime they skip over (like the current month skip to the final exams, which is what I'm mainly looking for). Then go back on hiatus as I see how the next arc plays out. I don't want to get ahead of myself, for example, look no further than the current arc. The internship arc is almost at its conclusion, yet MANY new/on-going fics are already covering the aftermath of it. And the latter end of this arc has revealed a lot a chapter at a time, so I again, I don't want to jump the gun and miss any important plot. However, this is quite far off from happening (probably a few months into next year), so I just wanted to say it as a heads up.**

 **So yeah, Tenya has four brothers. We haven't seen any of them besides Tensei yet in the manga, and since we probably won't be at Ida's house again anytime in the foreseeable future, I didn't want to make up their looks and attributes just yet. We also have only seen a glimpse of his mom and nothing of his dad, so they were left out too. Regardless, I wanted to focus on Tensei anyways so the rest would have had very small parts anyways.**

 **I also feel I should discuss Izuku using Full Cowl 8% in this chapter. In no way is this him using it in a battle-ready state like when he eventually uses it in his fight with against** **Katsuki. This is just a glimpse of the power increase for foreshadowing his eventual progress. I feel it's better to show he is slowly pushing his limits than randomly perfectly wielding the jump in power when using 8% and later 20% in the manga when under emotional distress.**

 **I made a mistake with what Midnight had taught initially. I thought she taught Japanese art history, but it's modern hero art history. Don't know how I could explain such a subject, hence why that section is so short (and more focused on Midnight herself) compared to the Japanese/world history and English sessions I wrote about. I feel Midnight probably isn't the best teacher for most school subjects, but I did find her inclusion as the referee for the sports festival, the hero naming class, and the involvement in the super move lesson as an excellent choice for her.**

 **I also made a change near the end of chapter eleven. Initially, Tooru was up front with Izuku that she didn't like him to assume that she wanted to be a part of a team when she went pro. This was to be a future plot point, but after doing some outline work for future chapters last weekend I didn't like where it was going, so I decided to go back and remove it.**

 **And finally, for some reason, the grammar edits I made to chapter four and six were removed (or errored when I tried to update them), so I had to re-upload both last Friday.**

 **Chapter thirteen will release on November 13th!**


	13. Sins of the Wealthy

Chapter 13: Sins of the Wealthy

Izuku awoke Sunday morning to find Mashirao still sound asleep and Tenya was not in his bed. Probably helping his older brother get up, he thought.

Midoriya then laid back in the cot to go over everything that had happened near the end of last night. He felt obligated to advise Ida after everything he did to help him with Hagakure on the double date, which felt like forever ago even though it was only about two months. Although Izuku believed in everything he said to Tenya, it still pained him to think what would happen if his relationship with Tooru were to fall apart. Sure everything they had done together had benefited them both, and even if their special bond ended today, they would both still walk away from each other with a good group of friends to come back on. It was the original reason they sought each other in the first place. It just so happened that their friendship eventually turned to love.

After giving a soft sigh, Izuku got up quietly as not to wake Mashirao and made his way out of the room after grabbing his backpack. Once in the hallway he found a bathroom to his right, as the door was open, and entered. After using the toilet and changing to a new set of clothes from his backpack, Midoriya put his things back into Ida's room before heading downstairs. As he descended the stairs, the smell of breakfast filled his nostrils. Izuku entered the kitchen to the sight of Tenya at the stove cooking, and his older brother at the dining table eating the last of his meal.

"Morning," said the older Ida in a cheerful tone.

With a single wave, Midoriya replied, "Good morning Ida-san."

Izuku's entrance got Tenya's attention, but he remained at the stove. He then said, "I didn't expect you to up this early Midoriya-kun. Is Ojiro-kun up yet?"

"Nope. And going from the last couple Saturday mornings, he probably likes to sleep in during the weekend," Midoriya responded as he took a seat on the opposite side of Tensei.

After giving a long sigh of relief, the younger Tenya said slowly, "Good, it's best that he doesn't see me like this."

The tall teen then turned around with a slight blush on his face. While he was facing the stove, Izuku could tell he was wearing a bib apron, but he couldn't tell much about what it looked like from his position other than the straps being white. However, after Tenya turned around his guest now understood his tall friend's previous statement. The apron's lower half had a checkered pattern, with patches of white and pink. This section was also frilled, in pink as well. The upper half just had a big heart in red and a white background. The words Ingenium were printed in gold in the center of the heart. It was Tensei's former hero name, but Tenya had recently accepted it as his own after coming to terms with himself after recovering from his encounter with Stain. Midoriya remembered his friend telling him of taking on the name a week ago at lunch.

After connecting the dots in his head, Izuku asked, "Uraraka-chan made that for you didn't she?"

The younger Ida's face went even more crimson, and he could only nod in response.

If Ojiro had seen this, it would be quite some ammo for Mashirao to tease him for some time, Midoriya thought. With a curious voice, he then asked, "When did you get it?"

"Last week," Tensei said cheerfully before taking a sip of from his mug. Izuku guessed he was drinking coffee, as he had smelled a whiff of it when he walked in. The older Tenya then continued, "I think the gift was to motivate my bro to keep cooking when Uraraka-san wasn't around. He's always been pretty terrible at it until she started helping him out a month ago."

Tenya crossed his arms, as he stated, "Well, your assumption is correct Tensei. Ochako told me to think of her when I wore it to give me the strength to improve."

"That's good to hear. And besides, I think it looks cute on you bro," the older Ida said with a broad grin plastered on his face.

Tenya only groaned as he turned back around to continue tending the food.

Izuku then thought, Ochako started teaching him to cook about a month ago? That would mean it wasn't that long after their run-in with Stain. What was his motivation to want to cook all of the sudden? Perhaps it was so he could help provide food for Tensei once he came home. From what the former pro hero had said, their parents seemed quite busy as of late dealing with the merger, and Midoriya had no idea of the status of Tenya's other brothers. His thoughts then shifted to Uraraka. She must have self-taught herself to cook because of the absence of her parents. Due to their family's poor status, her folks must have had to work well into the evening to provide enough for the family, so it made sense that Ochako would need to make meals for herself when they weren't around. Regardless if his assumptions were accurate or not, Izuku was glad his two friends had found a way to grow closer that could also benefit the disabled pro hero.

Tenya walked over and placed a plate of food in front of Izuku. The meal consisted of scrambled eggs, two biscuits with sausage patties sandwiched inside them, and some hash browns. The tall teen then said, "Sorry for it being so simple but it's all I can make breakfast-wise for now."

"It's fine Ida-kun, sometimes simpler is better," Midoriya replied as he grabbed a fork to start eating.

Tenya gave a soft smile before returning to the stove.

The meal was fine enough for Midoriya. The hashbrowns might have had a little too much salt, and the biscuits were a bit doughy, but it didn't bother him enough to complain. Izuku thought back when his mom was teaching him to cook. Even after a month he was nowhere near this good and was constantly burning his food.

As Izuku continued eating, Tensei said he wanted to watch the news and wheeled himself out of the kitchen.

Now that the two were alone, Midoriya then asked, "If you don't mind me asking, when do you plan to confess to Uraraka-chan?" He knew it was a bit bold for him to ask such a question, but he was curious if his advice from last night had stuck with his friend or not.

"I'm gonna wait till our final exams are over. I think we should get that out of the way before I pop the question," Ida said without turning around.

"Makes sense," the green haired teen replied.

Within a few minutes, Tenya moved the cooked food to a plate and covered it to make sure it stayed warm. Izuku guessed that would be Mashirao's breakfast once he got up. Ida then turned off the stove and took off his apron. After placing said clothing in a small cabinet above the stove, the tall teen took a seat where his older brother had previously sat in.

Tilting his head, a bit Midoriya then asked, "You're not going to eat?"

After leaning back into his chair, Tenya responded with, "Not hungry really. I got a lot on my mind at the moment."

Probably already planning how he was going to go about telling Ochako his true feelings, Izuku pondered. Trying to change to subject, he asked, "Are your parents back from work?"

"Yeah but they must have come in early this morning, otherwise, they would be up right now to help Tensei get out of bed and make breakfast. It's why I got up early, just in case they were too tired to do it. Afterward, I thought I might as well cook breakfast for all of us," Ida explained.

Midoriya held in a sigh, as he was curious about his tall friend's parents but he also wanted to leave not long after he was done eating. As much as he wanted to interact more with his friends and possibly see Ida's parents, he knew he needed to get back to studying. Plus Izuku was eager to add his notes from the afternoon portion of the study session to his hero notebooks at home, as he was too embarrassed to bring it yesterday. Tooru was okay with them, but he wasn't sure if his friends would be as well or if they would find it a bit too weird.

"Well, maybe I'll see your folks another time. And thanks for putting in the work to cook breakfast for us Ida-kun," the Midoriya said before he continued eating.

Ida leaned back in his chair before replying, "Yeah, hopefully, next time they won't be so busy." He then waved a hand softly before saying, "And cooking the food was no problem. It's the least I could do after you helped me make up my mind about Ochako last night."

* * *

Izuku was at home gathering his notes to study that afternoon. He had left not long after eating his breakfast, and Mashirao was still sleeping by the time he left. Both he and Tenya decided it was best just to let him rest, the day before had been a long one after all.

Midoriya was sitting in his living room, and his mom was sitting opposite of him. The two were about to study together, a tradition they usually did before tests. Typically, they would do this two days before a test, but if it were a final, they would start a week before it. This routine began in middle school, and Izuku enjoyed it as it made his mom proud of his high intelligence, plus it was a welcomed change of pace to his usual self-study habits. Inko was currently going over each section of notes her son had provided so that she could have somewhat of a gist of what was going to be gone over.

The older Midoriya then spoke up in a confused tone, "Izuku why is there world history and non-modern Japanese literature in here? We've never had to go over these subjects before since you went to the hero academy."

"Oh. Well, there isn't time to cover everything we would learn in a normal high school since they have to make room for our hero training. At U.A. they teach what they feel are more important subjects, and any other subjects we miss out on have to be studied on our own and only show up on the final," the younger Midoriya explained to his mother.

"Hmmm, I guess that explains why you don't have any math or science classes this semester," Inko said while tapping her chin with her index finger.

Izuku nodded before saying, "Yeah, I bet those will come up during my other terms or even another school year."

The two then spent the rest of the afternoon going into the material. They didn't even get halfway done before it was time for Inko to make dinner, but they had a week to go over it, so this was not an issue.

While eating, Izuku revealed Tooru's invitation to her house to his mom. He wanted some time to let the idea sink in before telling her and now felt like the right time. At first, she was worried. She knew what had happened the first time Hagakure asked him to come over. But as the younger Midoriya explained his feelings about it, she warmed up to the idea. Inko suggested that he dress nice for her visit, and her son agreed to the plan. Izuku decided that later in the week he would work with her to help him choose an outfit.

Midoriya finished his dinner and helped with the dishes before heading to his room to relax for the evening. After arriving home, he had already transferred his notes concerning everyone's stories from hero training and battles to his notebooks. Revelations about their quirks were put in one notebook and general battle tactics ideas in another. Izuku also added Momo's parent's quirks to a general stack of notes he had for any quirk user he observed.

So with that out of the way, Midoriya thought he would catch up with the general hero news. Since last Sunday, to practice his English, he would watch a summary segment in English to mimic the exercise Yaoyorozu had them do. Nothing noteworthy caught his attention until a short segment came up mentioning a battle between two villains in a nearby town. One was identified as the criminal that had caused damage to the subway system some weeks before, which canceled his classes that Friday. They confirmed it was him because of his electric-based quirk causing similar damage to nearby equipment. This time, however, there was some footage of the villain. It was mostly just a blurry video and only had a view of him from the back, but the man had on a black jumpsuit with some yellow pattern but it was hard to tell what it was as his figure was obscured because of his quick movements. The other villain Midoriya didn't recognize, and neither did the media. The other individual seemed to be made entirely made of rock and had caused massive damage to the area as he could control the earth around him. Either way, both ended their battle and escaped before any pro hero could make it to the scene.

Criminals fighting one other usually meant they were probably fighting over turf or some grudge, Midoriya thought. But it was rare to witness villains battling one another as they typically kept such acts as low profile as not to draw the attention of heroes. So it was weird that the two had fought at a busy intersection in broad daylight. But before Izuku could continue watching the broadcast, a message in the group chat caught his attention.

Blank: Evening everyone.

Midoriya thought, what was this about? Before he could respond, another message popped up.

Lion: So, you finally want to talk about that picture last night?

Oh right, that picture. He felt a blush creep into his face.

Blank: Yeah, about that...

A minute passed before Tooru continued.

Blank: I just wanted to show off the birthday cake my parents got me to you boys. I was saving it for the girls and well...

Lion: You showed off a lot more than you wanted.

Bubbles: WAY TOO MUCH.

Glasses: Agreed.

Encyclopedia: I still can't believe she was able to type and send that after Uraraka-chan and I tried to chase you down.

Chan? That was the first time Izuku had heard any of the girls address each other as such, outside of Asui. How close did those three get with one another during the sleepover? But besides that, he pondered something else. Why did Momo choose an encyclopedia as her icon? He vaguely remembered the bookshelves he had seen in Momo's room, even if it was as brief as it was. Were all those books he saw all encyclopedias?

Lion: Is that you Yaoyorozu-san?

All Might: Yeah I invited her before we began studying yesterday.

Glasses: Salutations Yaoyorozu-san!

Blank: Finally. Was wondering when you were gonna join.

Bubbles: Thank goodness! Now we're all here.

Lion: Welcome.

Encyclopedia: Thanks, everyone!

Encyclopedia: Anyways, we didn't want Hagakure-chan to send the picture cause we were in our pajamas. We didn't even see it until after she posted it.

Lion: Can't believe you didn't even look at it before sending it Hagakure-san.

Blank: I was pursued so I couldn't.

Lion: Well you ended up exposing a lot to all of us.

Blank: So did you! What the hell was going on in the picture you sent.

Bubbles: Yeah! And why was Ida-kun face first on the floor? Did you guys fight one another?

Lion: We were just arm wrestling.

Bubbles: Without shirts?

Glasses: It was Ojiro-kun's idea.

Blank: It doesn't matter, you and Midoriya-kun did it too.

Lion: So we were shirtless, so what? Your picture had a bra, panties, and cleavage in it!

Encyclopedia: Okay our picture was more revealing, but why was Ida-san on the ground?

Lion: From seeing Uraraka-san's black panties, obviously.

No one responded to Mashirao's last message until Izuku had enough of the silence and began typing.

All Might: So yeah, last night was a bit embarrassing for everyone. Can we just leave it at that?

Blank: Fine. But I wanna know why Ojiro-san sent that picture in the first place.

Lion: Cause I thought it would be hilarious. Plus I'm sure you ladies enjoyed what you saw.

Blank: Well, I guess I did get to see Izuku's bod.

Midoriya almost dropped his phone at Tooru's compliment. Sure it was praise from his girlfriend but it still made him hot and bothered.

Bubbles: Lucky you. I only got to see Tenya's back.

Glasses: This conversation is getting unnecessary.

Lion: What, no comment about my biceps?

Blank: Meh.

Lion: But they are bigger than either of them.

Encyclopedia: Sure, but Hagakure-chan and Uraraka-chan are currently dating those two. They wouldn't be interested in your body.

Lion: Okay, a decent point.

Lion: So going by that logic, what did you think then Yaoyorozu-san?

A few moments passed until an answer came.

Encyclopedia: No comment.

Lion: Seriously...

Seeing that the conversation wasn't going anywhere, Izuku began typing again.

All Might: Well I'm glad we could go over this before lunch tomorrow to make things less awkward.

Glasses: I agree, thanks for bringing this up Hagakure-san. Goodnight everyone.

Blank: No problem! G'night!

Lion: Fine. Until tomorrow then.

Bubbles: Later all.

Encyclopedia: This was fun, even if a bit embarrassing. Night all.

All Might: You'll get used to it Yaoyorozu-san. Later.

* * *

Midoriya was currently walking to U.A. on Monday morning. He rounded a corner into the entrance way only to be greeted by Mina Ashido.

The acid throwing heroine stated, "Good morning Midoriya-san. I was hoping I would catch you before school, and here you are! Lucky me!"

This seemed suspicious to Izuku. He hadn't interacted much with the pink girl, but he knew Tooru and her were decently acquainted. He breathed in deeply and exhaled before saying, "Morning Ashido-san. Is there something you need from me?"

"Well you see I've been quite persistent in asking Hagakure-san about this, but unlike Uraraka-san, she's a harder nut to crack. And then I realized I've been going about this all wrong," Ashido said slyly.

Midoriya could tell what she wanted to ask and started to back step away from the curious girl.

Mina then took a step forward to close their gap as she said, "I should have started with you. So are you and Hagakure-san going out or what?"

Trying his hardest to come off as calm, Izuku replied, "W-What? No. We're just g-good friends."

"You sure? You two always seem to be together between classes. And then Hagakure-san has been especially positive about things as of late," Ashido stated mischievously.

Midoriya gulped before responding, "T-That's probably because of the studying we've been doing at Yaoyorozu-san's house these past few Saturdays. She's been making a lot of progress in her studies."

"Studying? With Yaoyorozu-san? This is the first I've heard of this," Mina replied in a confused tone.

"Yeah you know, to prepare for the written portion of the final exam next Monday," Izuku stated.

This revelation seemed to drain some color from Ashido's skin before she gave off a dry laugh. She then walked past him and continued her odd chuckle as she walked towards the front doors the school. Midoriya wondered, did he just break his classmate?

Izuku then made his way to class, and most of his classmates were already there. Ashido was at Denki's desk, and he looked to be in a somber mood. But before could make it to his desk, Momo approached him in front of Tooru's desk. His girlfriend wasn't in class yet, but regardless the tall girl asked quietly, "Hey did you make any progress in figuring out if everything is okay with Ojiro-san?"

Midoriya was surprised at her forwardness about this but quickly replied, "Sorta. It's not as bad as I thought it might be but I can't be a hundred percent sure if it's bothering a him a lot or not."

Yaoyorozu gave a soft sigh before stating, "And you're still not gonna tell me what it is?"

"Sorry, I wish I could, but honestly I think it would be best for him to tell you himself. I just don't feel comfortable gossiping about private affairs. Especially since he's been reluctant to tell me much," Midoriya responded while looking down at his shoes.

Izuku then looked up to see Momo gave a slight shake of her head before saying, "There's no need to be sorry. Maybe I am a being a bit too nosy about this. I'm just worried is all."

"Yeah me too," Izuku said as he looked over to Mashirao. The tailed teen was currently talking to Mezo Shoji, well a tentacle of his. The two's assigned seats were side by side in the front row. He couldn't hear the conversation they were having but guessed it had to do with the upcoming exams.

Yaoyorozu and Midoriya then made their way to their seats and sat down.

Tooru and Kyoka made their way in just seconds later with Tenya right behind them. The class president then closed the door somewhat loudly gaining everyone attention.

Ida then announced, "I was just told by Cementoss-sensei that Aizawa-sensei would be running a bit late this morning and might just miss homeroom today. I think the perfect way to pass time is by going over our final exam schedule for next week."

There were a couple of groans throughout the classroom upon hearing this. Mina and Denki's being the loudest.

Tenya continued by explaining, "We will take the written portion on Monday and the following day is the practical. The result of both will be made known to us on Wednesday, which will also be a short day of school." He then paused and brought up his right hand as he continued with, "We will have a day off Thursday and the closing ceremony for the semester will be held on Friday. For those that pass both tests, the summer training camp starts Saturday. And for those who fail, starting Monday the week after, will be summer school for the entire month of July."

Izuku peered around to see his classmates reactions. Denki had dropped his head on his desk with a thud, and Mina did her awkward laugh again. Rikido was rubbing his temple with both his hands and Ejiro looked uncharastically scared. Before Midoriya could notice anyone else, the class president began speaking again.

"Our vice president has previously suggested to me to share the class ranking in our academic grades, and I agree with this idea. Aizawa-sensei has told me that anyone below the fourteenth position on this list needs to study hard if they wish to pass the written exam," Tenya explained in a serious tone. He then pulled out a piece of paper from his backpack and hung it on the whiteboard behind him before stepping out of the way so everyone could get a look.

Most of the class then got up to see their rank. Izuku had expected the same grades as Momo had shown them before but was a bit surprised to see some changes. Both Tooru and Uraraka had improved. Uraraka had gone up one rank, to twelfth, and Hagakure was up two, and was at fourteenth. Midoriya was surprised to see them advance in such a short amount of time. Both girls stepped away and went to hug Yaoyorozu upon seeing their progress, as she was still seated at the back of the class.

The reaction seemed to have gotten Ashido's attention, and she was quick to approach the trio and ask, "Yaoyorozu-san I heard you've been giving a study lesson for this exam the last few weekends. Do you have room for one more?"

Momo face lit up at the pink girl's question, and she happily said, "Of course Ashido-san, there's plenty of room at my place."

Jiro and Kaminari then came up and asked as well, and were given a yes. Sero came up after the seeing the commotion of Mina and Denki being overjoyed and wondered if he could join too. Momo simply nodded before getting up explaining to the four newcomers when and where to meet. Just as Yaoyorozu finished, Aizawa opened the door looking more exhausted than usual and walked in which made everyone return to their seats.

* * *

Lunch began with Momo asking, "Are you okay with everyone I just invited coming over this Saturday, Midoriya-san?"

The two were the first to arrive at their table, and the vice president asked the question almost immediately as she sat down.

In a puzzled tone, Izuku responded with, "It's your home Yaoyorozu-san, why are you asking me if it's okay?"

"Well, I see you as the unofficial leader of our group so I thought I should ask you if it was okay," the tall girl tried to explain.

Again baffled at her statement, Midoriya asked, "You think I'm our leader?"

Momo nodded before saying, "Everyone within our circle of friends looks up to you Midoriya-san. The heroics you did during our first rescue training, the villain invasion, and the Hero Killer incident was enough evidence for us to see that. In each of those you showed us that you have what it takes to direct a team of heroes to accomplish some amazing feats despite the odds stacked against you."

Izuku was blushing slightly at all this praise; he seemed to be getting a lot of this as of late.

The vice president continued by saying, "At least to me, I think you have the best intentions for us. So before having half our class show up for our study session, I just wanted to sure if you thought it was okay or not."

Her logic was a lot to take in, but to answer promptly, Midoriya responded with, "I think the more, the merrier, works here Yaoyorozu-san. It's our final meet-up, and it's just going to be one massive review like you said it would be. So I think having a couple of extra classmates won't be a problem. Besides, I want everyone in our class to attend the summer camp training, and if this helps that happen, I'm all for it."

"Thanks, Midoriya-san. I was pretty sure you'd say yes but I just wanted to hear what you would say is all," Momo said before turning her attention to her food.

Before Izuku could say any more about the subject, Tenya and Ochako arrived. Mashirao and Tooru were quick to follow, and the group turned their discussion towards the practical portion of their exam as they started eating. Yaoyorozu once again looked bummed out about the whole prospect of this part of the exam, and Ojiro seemed to notice this too as he kept glancing at her as Hagakure and Uraraka discussed the possibilities of what it could be. Both thought it would just be a comprehensive test that would cover everything they had gone over in class exercises but the scenarios in how they could incorporate all of this seemed to stump everyone.

As Izuku was about to ask how everyone's physical and quirk training was going, he felt a hard jab to the back of his head. He turned to see a vaguely familiar student from the hero festival. The boy said in a vile tone, "Ah, sorry. My tray couldn't get around that big head of yours."

Mashirao was seated to Izuku's left and stood up before dryly stating, "What do you want Monoma."

The newcomer was quick to respond, "No honorific? Come now Monkey-san, one must have manners when speaking to one's superior."

This didn't seem to faze Ojiro as he replied, "You're not gonna get a rise out of me, so lay off with the insults for once and answer my question."

"I recently heard this one, and your class president had been involved in the Hero Killer incident. Just can't stop being at the center of attention can you class 1A? Even if it might get everyone in our grade or even our school dragged in with your bullshit," Monoma said with a snobby tone.

Mashirao then grabbed the insulting teen by the collar of his uniform which made him drop his plate of food and lifted him a bit off the ground. Ida and Midoriya were quick to stand up as Monoma stated, "Hey now, I thought you said you weren't gonna let me get to you."

Speaking through his teeth with rage, Ojiro replied, "Insult me all you want but don't you dare bring my friends and classmates into this. You can't even fathom what Ida-kun, Midoriya-kun, Todoroki-san went through when they fought against that villain. And then there's everything me and my class went through during the villain invasion. We were scared for our lives and All Might-sensei could have died that day."

Tenya and Izuku were about to say something before Mashirao cut them off by saying, "I'm not going to hurt him, just giving him a fair warning if he continues this behavior."

By now most of the cafeteria had gone silent as they observed the altercation before them. A girl was quick to make her way to their table and proclaim, "Hey you! Put him down please!"

"Do as the nice lady says," Monoma said in a playful tone. Ojiro hesitated for a moment before lowering the boy and releasing his hands from the uniform.

"That's better," Monoma said as he brushed himself off.

After inhaling and exhaling loudly, the tailed teen said, "We're not in middle school anymore, we're in a hero academy to become pro heroes. It's time to grow up and start acting like one Monoma."

After shaking his head, he responded, "Man you're no fun anymore monkey-san. Oh well, there's still bigger fish to fry that still knows their place."

This statement made Ojiro give a puzzled look at the student from 1B.

Suddenly the girl from before gave a quick chop to Monoma's neck causing his knees to buckle. As he fell, she grabbed the back of his shirt to stop his fall. The downed teen was quick to cough and then proclaim, "The hell Kendo-san!"

"I know you probably instigated this," she replied with disappointment in her voice. Monoma was about to protest, but she raised her free hand as if she was going to strike him again which got him to cringe, raising his hands to protect his face and entire body. Kendo then bowed slightly towards Midoriya before saying, "I'm sorry everyone for what Monoma-san might have said. He doesn't represent the attitude of class 1B and I will be having a stern talk with him later about this." She then dragged the boy away from the group's table before the rest of the cafeteria started gossiping about what had just occurred.

As Tenya went to go get a rag and broom to clean up the mess from Monoma's dropped plate of food, Tooru asked, "The hell was that Ojiro-san?"

Mashirao sat down back in his seat before replying, "That was Neito Monoma. He and a bunch of other kids used to bully me back in my previous school."

Ochako then asked, "And who was that girl? She seems familiar."

"Itsuka Kendo. She's the class president of 1B. I'm glad she came over here. She diffused this situation a lot better than any of us could have," Momo explained.

Tenya returned with a rag and broom and said, "I thought you were gonna knock his lights out Ojiro-kun."

Izuku thought this too, but he was somewhat relieved when his tailed friend had stated that he didn't want to hurt Monoma. As much as the boy from 1-B deserved it, he didn't wish Mashirao to get in trouble.

"I used to do that, but that never amounted to anything good when I did," Mashirao said after giving a long sigh. He then sat down and stated, "Thanks for not getting involved guys. That's a part of my past I want to bury as quick as possible, and I don't wanna drag you guys into that."

Yaoyorozu then spoke up in a concerned tone, "Ojiro-san if it's truly as bad as you're describing then maybe it would be good to talk about it with us."

Ojiro was blunt as he said, "No thank you. I appreciate the concern Yaoyorozu-san, but that part of my life brought the worst out of me. Even thinking about it makes me disgusted with myself so I'd rather not have to relive it again by discussing it once more."

The tall girl gave the face that she wanted to protest dropping the subject but she instead sighed and took a sip of her drink. The rest of lunch was mostly an awkward silence minus Momo stating that she had invited four more of their classmates to the study session. Everyone was okay with the decision, and afterward, Yaoyorozu said that this time the lesson would last until the late afternoon to ensure they could cover everything, which again the group was fine with.

* * *

Izuku was sitting in class with his head on the desk. So much had just happened and he was trying to understand it all. He now had a face to give to Mashirao's troubled past, but from the sound of it, more than just Neito was a part of it, but it was a start. Midoriya had seen Ojiro upset before, seeing him ready to fight Yasumura only two weeks ago had been eye-opening. But the hatred in his voice for what Monoma had said about him and his classmates was on a whole other level, even though he restrained himself. Why did Ojiro hold back though? Not long ago he was ready to fight Momo's head butler for much less. Had he learned to suppress his feelings better after that day? Was it because it was on school grounds and he didn't want to get in trouble? Or maybe, as Mashirao had previously stated, he had just gotten over dealing with Neito's bullying and wanted to move on?

Izuku's phone suddenly vibrated, and he was quick to see that it was a private message.

Lion: Meet me outside the classroom. I need your help. DO NOT TELL ANYONE ELSE, PLEASE!

Midoriya looked up to see his tailed friend was not at his desk or in the classroom. The class was going to start any minute, but he was quick to get up and walk outside the classroom.

Ojiro was just outside after opening the door and he rapidly stated, "Follow me, we don't have much time."

As they both began to walk, Izuku asked, "What's going on?"

Mashirao replied, "Monoma's last statement before being subdued by Kendo-san confused me, and I've been wracking my brain about it since lunch ended. Before I got to class, it hit me what he meant." He then let out a groan before saying, "Gosh, I'm such an idiot, why didn't I notice earlier."

 _Oh well, there's still bigger fish to fry that still knows their place._

Midoriya couldn't see it's meaning and asked, "I'm sorry Ojiro-kun I don't understand what you mean."

"He's going after Koda-san. They bullied him too, and they were extra cruel to him because he never fought back unlike me," Mashirao replied with fury in his voice.

Upon hearing this, Izuku had a dozen questions more he wanted to ask but instead realized the severity of the situation and was quick to respond, "Alright, where do you think they are and what do you need me to do?"

As the pair rounded a corner, Ojiro gave a short chuckle before saying, "Heh, this is why you are my best bud Izuku. No questions asked, if a friend is in need you go head first into the fire. But to answer your first question, we're going to the one place that doesn't have cameras on the main campus, the roof!"

In a baffled tone, Izuku asked, "Why do you think they are on the roof?"

Mashirao explained, "Monoma and his lackeys would always be sure to cause trouble outside the view of adults. Knowing that clever bastard, he still uses the same tactic he did in our last school." The two arrived at the stairwell and ascended upward. After climbing two flights of stairs, Ojiro continued, "And to answer your other question Izuku, what I want you to do is to just focus on protecting Koda-san. Get him out of here if you can. No matter what happens, don't lay a finger on Monoma. I'll deal with that bastard by myself. We're both gonna get trouble doing this, but I wanna take the majority of the blame."

The thought of this predicament that would get Midoriya and himself at odds with the school rules almost gave him pause, but instead, he said, "Okay but try not to hurt him too much."

They had reached the door to the roof at this point, and Ojiro said, "Don't worry I'm only going on the defensive. Time will be on my side in this battle, so there's no need for me too rough with him."

Confused at what his friend meant, Izuku asked, "What do you mean?"

They had arrived at the top of the stairs at this point and Mashirao stood in front of the door. He looked through its small window before replying, "His quirk is limited to a few minutes of use." He looked to his friend and stated, "I wanna reiterate, do not let him touch you. I don't want to fight your quirk today."

Still baffled, Midoriya responded, "Fight my quirk?"

But before he could get an answer, Ojiro kicked open the door and yelled, "Monoma! Be a man and face me!"

The sudden glare from the sun blinded Izuku for a few seconds, but eventually, he was able to see the scene before him. Neito was standing over a shivering Koji, who was on the ground with his arms over his head. Monoma looked different, however, his skin was now had a very light green tone, and he had two long sharp protrusions coming from his arms, just above the wrist. As he turned around his change in appearance was even more apparent, a pair of bladed mandibles were on each side of his mouth.

Neito then said, "Huh, you actually came to the rescue. I was sure you would run away with your tail between your legs. You're already on thin ice you know."

Mashirao started walking forward before saying, "I don't care about that. But, you know, I was truly hoping I would come up here and see no one. A small part of me wanted your comment at lunch to be just a hollow threat. Perhaps Koda-san was just running late for class because he was using the bathroom or something else. Maybe I wouldn't have to resort to asking my best friend to get involved. And most of all, I didn't ever want to fight a student outside a combat training on school grounds, but here we are."

Ojiro was now just a meter from the half bug teen, with Izuku a couple of meters behind him. He then proclaimed, "Now stop traumatizing Koda-san!"

Monoma said slowly but methodically, "Ah, but it just means so much to me to put people like him in his place. I still can't fathom how you both got in class 1A or this school at all with your low status in society. Oh well. This isn't exactly the preferred quirk I would want to fight you with, but I still got the advantage here, so I guess it will do."

Ojiro then asked, "So who did you have to copy to get that quirk?"

"A classmate of mine in 1B, Togaru Kamakiri. His quirk, Sharp Blade, will be enough to deal with the likes of you," Neito explained as if bored with the conversation.

Once the bully finished talking, he suddenly lunged forward raising his left arm and brought down the sharp appendage towards Mashirao. He barely dodged it by sidestepping to his left and, with a quick thrust of his leg, kicked his opponent squarely in the stomach pushing him back. Now that Monoma was on his back, Izuku activated One for All to sprint over to the cowering Koji. Neito reached out and extended his protrusion to try and catch him, but Mashirao's tail stopped this by grabbing the fallen teen's leg and tossed him to the side.

Midoriya thanked Ojiro as he passed him and arrived at Koda. The large teen was still shaking and was muttering something incoherent.

Izuku took a knee and said, "Koda-san, I'm here to help. Let's get you away from here."

The statement didn't get a reaction, so Izuku got closer and extended his left hand, but Koji slapped it away. He almost lost his balance from the knockback and his left hand was in quite some pain. Midoriya wondered, was Koda in that much of a shock that he wasn't aware what was going on? And since when was he this strong?

While rubbing his hand, Izuku stated, "Koda-san, it's just me, Midoriya. I'm not here to scare or hurt you."

Koji still showed no signs of listening to his rescuer. Izuku decided to give him a bit more time to calm down and turned his head a bit to see how his friend was faring in his fight.

Mashirao was in a fighting stance with his tail raised straight up right behind him. His position involved having his hands up about eye level with his palms facing outwards, his elbows and chin were tucked in, and it looked as if almost all his weight was on his back foot which laid flat while only the ball of his front foot was touching the ground. He had some cuts on both his hands. Neito was again on the ground and looked frustrated. After getting up, he dashed at the tailed teen and went with a stabbing motion with his right arm towards his opponent's side. Ojiro took a step back and pushed the blade to the left before jabbing his elbow with the same arm into Monoma's shoulder, causing his attacker to fall his knees and grunt in pain. The deflection had opened a new cut on Mashirao's hand, and it trembled slightly, but he took a few steps back and resumed his fighting stance. Before Neito could get back up, his bug features suddenly retracted and vanished.

After giving off a sigh and relaxing his stance, Ojiro stated, "There it is, now it's over."

A weak chuckle came from Monoma as he got up. He began to rub his impacted shoulder with his opposite hand, while the other was in his pocket, "And why would I give up now?"

Mashirao said with increasing anger and volume, "Your quirk's time limit is up. I know you'd never try and copy my quirk out of some stupid logic of yours, Izuku is fast enough to avoid you from copying his, and good luck trying to call for help from any animals all the way up here if you somehow got past both of us to copy Koda-san's. So just give up already!"

Neito approached Mashirao and responded with, "That's some decent logic you spouted there. But you vastly underestimating me Monkey-san." He then threw a punch with his free hand and almost instantly Kamakiri's quirk manifested once again. This caught Ojiro off-guard, and he slammed his tail into the ground to launch himself upward to dodge the attack and did a flip before landing back on his feet a few meters away. Monoma then gave a wicked grin as he stated, "See? I still got this."

Struggling to understand what was going on, Ojiro proclaimed, "The hell? How did you do that?"

Neito shrugged and shook his head before saying, "Does it matter? It's not like I would tell you. Your strategy to stall me out is now in shambles, and your hands will soon be useless for deflecting my attacks. Just give up already."

Izuku was now panicking. He was trusting that Mashirao had a plan to end this quick, but now it looked to be a lengthy brawl that could end with his friend getting seriously hurt. To calm down, Midoriya tried to think of a way to bring a stop to this without being directly involved. An idea came, but he knew that Ojiro wouldn't like it, but it seemed like the fastest option.

Izuku took out his phone and quickly typed a message before turning his attention back to Koji. He took a deep breath before saying, "Koda-san, Ojiro-kun is getting hurt trying to protect you. If we wanna stop him from getting injured anymore, then we need to get you out of here."

Mentioning the tailed teen seemed to get through to Koda finally, and he looked up at his rescuer. Koji's face was flustered and his eyes full of tears but he was able to give a weak nod. Izuku got down and helped the large teen up, and the two slowly started walking towards the door.

Suddenly Mashirao was thrown in front of them, bringing the two to a stop. His hands were becoming quite bloodied and he looked like he was in a lot of pain as he struggled to get up.

Izuku turned to see Neito was back to normal again but was short of breath but said, "I can't let you two leave just yet." He put both hands in his pocket as he got in between the pair and Ojiro.

Koda tightened his grip on Midoriya as Monoma approached. The copy teen then morphed once more and brought out his blades once he removed his hands from his pockets. This caused Koji to jump onto Izuku, and if he hadn't activated One for All, would have toppled over.

This got a chuckle from Neito as he saw the green haired teen struggled to carry his friend and start to take a few steps back. He then spoke while taking steps forward, "You won't be as fast now, will you? I think your quirk would be better used by me so I can finally knock out this blockhead behind me."

But before Monoma could get close to the two, Ojiro's tail grabbed him by the leg and he was knocked down to his stomach. He then attempted to drag him back, but the copy teen turned around and made a motion to slash at Mashirao's tail, however, in mid-swing the blade disappeared.

Ojiro then took this chance to sprint his way in front of Midoriya and turned towards Monoma, with blood was still flowing from his hands. The sight of this got Koda to get off his rescuer and say softly, "O-Ojiro-chan."

Mashirao said without turning around, "We're not kids anymore Koda-san, I told you to stop saying my name like that."

A pout came from Koji upon hearing this.

Mashirao then stated, "You're dropping your copy faster and faster Monoma. You getting tired?"

Neito was standing once more and grunted before replying, "Perhaps. But it looks like you've exhausted the use of your hands." Ojiro hands twitched at this, and he groaned. Once Monoma resumed his insect features the two lunged at one another, but a loud yell stopped them both in their tracks.

"STOP THIS AT ONCE!"

The words got everyone's attention since it sounded like it was coming from over the edge of the roof. A yellow blur then came up flying and landed on the roof before saying, "FOR I AM HERE."

* * *

Izuku was sitting in the hallway outside the nurse's office.

In the other room, Aizawa, the principal, and the homeroom teacher for class 1B were attempting to talk to Koji about what had happened.

Recovery Girl was tending to both Mashirao and Neito in the sick room.

All Might's arrival had brought an end to the squabble on the roof, and he escorted all the students to the principal's office. Once he had explained the situation to Nezu, they both brought the students to the nurse's office. Midoriya was told to wait while the principal got some other teachers.

The hulking hero apologized to his successor in private that he hadn't come sooner. He explained that he was busy with paperwork, and made a point that he hated doing it. All Might had ignored his phone vibrating until he finished the current page he was working on. Once he noticed the text, he hastily found an unoccupied room to climb out of the window and jump towards the roof.

Before All Might made his leave, he stated, "Just tell them the truth about everything that's happened, and you will probably just get a slap on the wrist for what you did my boy."

Midoriya had given a quick summary of what had happened on the roof just minutes before his idol explained his late arrival. His mentor wanted to stay longer, but he stated he was nearing his limit for One for All and needed to go. Not long after his leave, Eraserhead and Vlad King came down the hallway with the principal leading the way. Shota was quick to tell Izuku that they would talk to him after speaking with Koji.

While he waited, Midoriya pondered if he had done the right thing. All Might didn't seem angry when he told him his account of what happened, just concerned. Izuku was more anxious at his homeroom teacher and principal's take on everything. Aizawa was much more blunt and harsh in his judgment than his mentor. And although he never really interacted with Nezu, he was the principal, so had to be quite strict with the rules, he thought.

Regardless, Izuku was glad Mashirao had told him not to get involved as things might have played out different if he had. He didn't want to hurt another student if he could help it, especially outside combat training. Also, the thought of Monoma temporarily acquiring his quirk seemed quite dangerous for everyone involved. Even though the copy teen looked to master whatever quirk he received, Midoriya didn't feel that the 1B student would have the body training to control it. And if he could, then it would have meant Monoma would have dominated that fight.

Izuku also wondered if he had been much help at all. Sure he got Koji to calm down somewhat and had started to get him to move, but it felt like it wasn't much. Once he began to carry the large teen, his speed was useless, and Neito would have caught him and obtained his quirk for sure. Midoriya felt his presence then would have become a hindrance if that had happened.

The door suddenly opened slowly, and Koji walked out of it. He turned his head towards Izuku and then pointed an index finger towards inside the office.

Midoriya nodded and got up, but before he could go inside, Koda put a hand on his shoulder and spoke in a whisper, "Thanks Midoriya-chan for trying to help. And sorry, about battering your hand. I forget my own strength at times."

Midoriya's left hand had bruised and a bit swollen by now. The large teen's strength had surprised him. Izuku also noticed that Koji had spoken to him without being too wordy as last time. Also, why use chan? Koda used it with Ojiro that, but they had been friends for years in their last school. Was he that thankful for attempting to help today?

Either way, Midoriya replied, "No problem. And my hand will be fine Koda-san. Recovery Girl will have me healed soon enough."

Koji gave a slight bow before making his way down the hallway. Izuku then walked into the nurse's office to see the principal sitting in a chair with both homeroom teachers standing behind him side to side. There was also a nurse he didn't recognize typing away on the computer to his left.

Nezu then spoke up by stating, "Please take a seat Midoriya-san."

The small principal motioned to a chair in front of him, and Izuku did as he was asked.

"While Koda-san's testimony was interesting, to say the least, I want to hear your side of the story, especially since you were present at the altercation at lunch today," Nezu said in a whimsical tone.

So they know about that, Midoriya noted. He then explained in a more detailed account than he gave All Might. The adults didn't ask any questions during his explanation, but they did show varying reactions as he recounted the events. The only detail he left out was texting his mentor for help.

Once Izuku finished, Vlad King stated in a disappointed tone, "This is all my fault. This could have been prevented by me if I had been more stern with my student with his behavior. Besides I should have noticed something was fishy between these two when Ojiro-san started asking me questions about Monoma-san during his field training under me."

Nezu chuckled before replying, "It's quite alright Kan-san. Let's just focus on mending this for now." The furry principal then focused on Izuku and asked, "Do you have any questions yourself lad?"

Of course, the boy had plenty of questions but first asked, "You said Koda-san's side of the story was interesting. You got him to talk?"

Shota responded by saying, "No. But we had him write answers on paper for us. Giving everything that happened, I don't blame him for not being able to speak."

"That boy sure does have a way with words when he writes," Nezu chuckled. He then continued, "Anything else?"

Curious about what was going to happen to the large teen, Izuku asked, "Where did you send Koda-san?"

The principal produced a warm smile before saying, "I'm glad to hear that you're so concerned about your classmate Midoriya-san. But to answer your question I sent him to the teacher's lounge to await his parents who are going to pick him up. I think he needs some time at home to rest after everything he's been through."

Trying his luck, Midoriya asked, "Monoma-san mentioned that Ojiro-kun was already on thin ice. Would it be too much to ask what that means?

Nezu scratched his chin before turning to Eraserhead and stated, "It's up to you Aizawa-san if you think he should know."

Shota sighed before asking, "Midoriya-san, do you consider Ojiro-san, a good friend of yours?"

"Yes, sir. He even told me I was his best friend just a few weeks ago," Izuku said with pride.

Aizawa gave a small grin before saying, "Alright then. But keep this to yourself please." His face then turned serious as he explained, "Ojiro-san got into a lot of fights in his previous school. So much so I'm surprised he wasn't expelled. This was a concern when we contemplated inviting him to this academy. Eventually, it was decided that as long as he behaved himself, then he could come here."

Izuku gulped and the asked, "You're not saying he's going to be expelled now, are you?"

"It's certainly a possibility. Violence against another student outside of training is a grave thing to do, especially at a hero school with as much prestige as ours has," Eraserhead said bluntly.

The furry principal then spoke up and said, "However, if everything that has been told to us so far is true, then this is a unique situation. Regardless we need more testimonies before we can make a decision."

Midoriya then asked, "So, how much trouble am I in?"

In a more serious tone, Nezu answered with, "Again I want to speak to the other two boys before we decide that."

Aizawa was quick to add, "I can already tell you that you should have contacted a teacher immediately instead of trying to solve the problem yourself. It's our job after all."

"Sorry, sir," the green haired teen stated as he looked down at his shoes.

"Well I think that's enough questions, for now, we need to move along to the next one," the small principal said as he hopped out of the chair. He then twirled his index finger once as he said, "Ken-san would you bring in your student."

The blood hero sighed but said, "At once sir." He turned to open the door to the sick room and left it ajar.

Nezu then asked, "While we ask Monoma-san's about the event that occurred I'm sure you wouldn't mind going into the next room, would you Midoriya-san? I'm sure you are concerned about your friend."

Izuku quickly replied, "Yes, and thank you, sir."

Vlad King and the copy teen then came into the room, and Midoriya entered the sick room. Neito had a smug look on his face, but he ignored it.

As the door closed behind him, Izuku made his way to Mashirao. He was on the third bed on the right, and Recovery Girl was sitting on a stool at the foot of his bed. Izuku pulled up a chair to his tailed friend's left and sat down.

Ojiro himself looked quite tired and both his hands were bandaged but he had a happy grin on his face. His smile faded though as he asked, "So, are they planning to punish you?"

Izuku tapped his cheek as he replied, "I'm not sure. They said they wanted to hear everyone's side of the story first when I asked."

"Well, I hope it's minor, whatever they decide," Mashirao said after giving a soft sigh.

Midoriya looked at the older women at the foot of the bed and asked, "So, how are his injuries?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Recovery Girl huffed. She then hopped down and walked over to Izuku. "Show me your left hand please," the head nurse stated. He then extended it to her, and she leaned forward to give it a simple kiss. Within seconds the bruise had faded, and the swelling had gone down. The elder woman then said, "I'm just glad you are not visiting me as often as you used to, boy."

As he rubbed his hand where the bruise once was, Midoriya replied, "You and me both, ma'am. And thanks."

Recovery Girl gave a nod before turning around and walking away. As she did this, she said, "I'll leave you two to some privacy then." The head nurse then walked over to a table next to the door towards the front nurse's office and started to make some tea for herself.

Ojiro shifted in his bed as he said, "So I'll be the last one they want to talk to."

Midoriya slowly replied, "Yeah."

"I wonder if that means I'm gonna get the worst punishment," Mashirao stated as he leaned his head back into his pillow.

Baffled by his logic, Izuku was quick to ask, "Why would you say that?"

"They started with Koda-kun, and he's the victim here. Then there's you, who didn't throw a punch and just tried to help. And they called in Monoma next, so naturally, I feel I'm the one in the hottest water here if they saved me for last," Ojiro explained.

Midoriya then asked, "How could you tell they called Koda-san first?"

A smile came to Ojiro's face as he replied, "He stayed by my side until they came in to ask him questions. After some time had passed, I heard your voice in the next room, so I figured you came in after him."

Izuku was glad Koji was keeping Mashirao company for the time he was separated from his friend. He hesitated for a moment but then asked, "I heard about your fights at your middle school."

Ojiro crossed his arms as he asked, "Did the principal tell you about that?"

Izuku shook his head before saying, "It was Aizawa-sensei. He also told me about your agreement for coming here. I'm sorry if I meddled into things you weren't comfortable with sharing with me."

"It's fine Midoriya-kun. At this point, I'm ready to tell you everything. I mean, after all that happened you deserve to know," Mashirao said.

Taken aback a bit, Midoriya asked, "Everything?"

"Yeah, you and everyone else in our group if they're interested," Ojiro said with a bit of apprehensiveness in his voice.

Now quite curious Izuku asked, "So, like during lunch tomorrow?"

"We don't even know if I'll still be going to this school or not after what happened," Mashirao stated bluntly.

Midoriya got up out of his chair and proclaimed, "You don't really think you'll be expelled, do you?"

Ojiro shrugged and responded with, "I can't dismiss the possibility. I promised I was done picking fights and I broke that pact. It's not what heroes do, so I can't blame them if they kick me out."

Raising his voice a bit, the Izuku said, "But you didn't instigate it. You just tried to defend Koda-san. And look how injured you got! It's nothing compared to what you did to," Izuku paused a second before saying, "him."

Mashirao replied, "We both didn't go all out on each other Midoriya-kun. Monoma just did more damage cause he had blades. He could have done a lot more to me if he had tried to cut me elsewhere, but he just wanted to incapacitate me. That bastard knows my tail isn't good at stopping sharp objects and blocking a blade with my legs is very difficult."

"Language," Recovery Girl said as she passed by the bed with a cup of tea in her hand.

"Sorry, ma'am," Ojiro replied. He then turned back to his friend before continuing with, "I was just fighting him defensively, so I didn't injure him that much. My soks would have done a lot more damage if I went all out, but I was just trying to discourage him from using his arms."

Izuku tilted his head as he said, "Soks?"

"Oh, sorry. In Muay Thai, a sok is an elbow technique. They're great for when you're too close to your opponent to throw a punch. It was a good combo I used after deflecting the blades with my hands," Mashirao explained.

Intrigued by this knowledge, Midoriya asked, "And what about that kick you did at the start? And that stance you kept going back too?"

With renewed vigor, the tailed teen responded with, "That kick was a thip or foot thrust. It's used to make some distance between you and your opponent but can also be used to block attacks. If you time it right and have enough strength, you can knock over your attacker easily." He then rose his hands like earlier and continued with, "That stance was the traditional Thai stance. Of the four stances in the art, it provides the best defensive options. Though it also is the weakest with regards to strength and mobility. My tail somewhat solves those issues, however."

Mashirao's spirits seemed to be higher, and Izuku was glad he asked such questions. But the possibility of expulsion from U.A. for his friend still irked him. There was no way he would leave school, right? What would Mashirao even do if he was expelled? Would another academy accept him? Or would Ojiro be forced to go back to a typical high school? It infuriated Midoriya that doing the right thing might get his friend kicked out, and he was having a hard time keeping it in.

Trying to calm himself, Izuku asked, "Koda-san was pretty shaken back there. What did he go through to get that afraid of that bully?"

"Koda-san has always been shy. But the bullying from Monoma and his friends is what made him the usual mute guy we know today. He just stopped trusting people really, and it takes some time for him to open up at all. But he was more afraid of how Monoma looked than anything," Ojiro explained with a hint of anger.

Midoriya responded by asking, "Wait, he has Entomophobia?"

With a puzzled look on his face, Mashirao replied, "I guess that means fear of bugs? You and your big words Izuku. But yeah he's always been terrified of insects. Monoma and his goons would place bugs on to Koda-san when he wasn't looking, or force him to do things against his will because they threatened to put insects in places like his locker."

"That sounds horrible," Izuku stated while rubbing his left hand.

Ojiro sighed before saying, "He's one reason why I got in trouble so much. I couldn't just let them scare him to death."

Midoriya then asked, "And the others reasons?"

"I'll tell you when I tell the others," Mashirao said turning his head away from his visitor.

Midoriya rubbed his temple as he said, "Fine." As curious as he was, his friend was going to tell him everything soon enough, so waiting a bit longer wouldn't hurt.

Izuku then asked, "Hey Koda-san thanked me as he left to get picked up by his parents. He actually talked normal instead of like when he congratulated me about Tooru becoming my girlfriend. Do you know what that's about?"

"It means he trusts you, as he does me. That wordy speech behavior of his is how he initially opens up to people. Once he feels comfortable around you he drops the act and talks normally," Ojiro explained.

Midoriya was glad that Koda was opening up to him. Though there was still a lot to work on with him, it was a good start.

The door to the front nurse's office then opened, and Eraserhead stepped out of it looking a bit peeved, well more than usual. Izuku guessed he didn't like Neito's retelling of what happened.

"Midoriya-san, you're free to go home. I know it's early but I'd rather you be home than interrupting your class with your presence. Midnight doesn't need more gossip in her classroom anyways," Shota stated with a groan.

As Izuku got up, Mashirao said, "Hey, I'll make a message on our group chat about today at some point Izuku. Until then do you mind keeping it quiet if you can?"

Midoriya nodded as he said, "I will."

"Thanks," Ojiro stated, as Vlad King and the principal stepped into the room.

Izuku passed them both as he entered the front nurse's office and noticed Neito was sitting in the same chair he had sat in when he told his side of the story. He looked quite distraught. Midoriya guessed things hadn't gone as well as Monoma thought they would.

* * *

Izuku was currently in the teacher's lounge and had been there for some time.

It was Tuesday morning, and the teen had received a text from Tenya just as he arrived at school. Apparently, the class president had been told by their homeroom teacher to do so, as it would be easier than meeting him before school. Ida always did come to school early, he must have run into Eraserhead as he waited patiently for class to start.

Midoriya was guessing he was going to be told his punishment. He pondered what it would be. Detention? Service work? He really couldn't see himself get anything worse, but this was Aizawa, so perhaps it might.

Regardless, yesterday afternoon had been quite an ordeal. When Izuku got home, his mother had already been informed of what happened, as the principal called her during his train ride home. She was, of course, in tears but once her son told her the finer details, Inko calmed down. The older Midoriya had assumed it was a lot worse than what she was told over the phone.

Their talk was interrupted when the younger Midoriya's phone vibrated. School had just been let out it seemed, as he was receiving a flood of messages from his friends. They knew that a fight had broken out, but that was it. He told them to wait till Mashirao responded. Tooru and Momo were still defiant in wanting to know regardless, but Izuku remained adamant that they wait till Mashirao was ready to talk.

Shota opened the door and entered with a look of exhaustion on his face, well more than normal. He then said, "Oh good, you're here." He then motioned for Izuku to follow.

As they exited the teacher's area side by side, Izuku asked, "Is everything okay sensei, you look a bit pale."

Aizawa then explained slowly between yawns, "Just a lack of sleep, so same as usual. Yesterday was already stressful enough, and then the principal called an early meeting to render our verdict on how to deal with you boys. The principal was trying to be lenient for you, but I want to drive home the point that you could have prevented those two from hurting each other by simply just contacting one of us. Would have saved everyone a lot of trouble."

Midoriya winced a bit at this but understood his teacher's logic. He then asked, "So what's my punishment?"

"Detention for the rest of the week. Our headmaster only wanted it for two days, but I convinced him otherwise. Also, you'll be helping me with some paperwork on Friday's detention. I've got a lot to go through to prepare for our summer camp trip next weekend. I'll admit I have been putting it off because it's a bother, but now I have the perfect excuse to finish it in a more timely manner," Eraserhead finished explaining with a creepy grin.

The two continued to walk in silence until they reached the front door to the 1A classroom. Homeroom must have just started, Izuku guessed. Shota grabbed the door's handle before stating, "Stay here while I inform the class what happened. When I open the door again, you can enter, and we'll continue class as normal."

As Midoriya waited, his phone vibrated, and he was quick to look at it to see who it was.

Lion: Hey all, my dad just got a call from the principal. So, I'm suspended until exams next week. Looks like Monoma got the same punishment as me which is cool I guess. I think we got off easy considering everything that happened. If you'll wanna hear why I did what I did then come to my place after school on Thursday. I know you all probably have a million questions, but I need some time to cool off, so I'm turning my phone off after this until then. Hope you didn't get into too much trouble Izuku.

There was another message afterward that gave the address to his house, but no one else messaged back. Izuku wondered if it was because everyone was still listening to Shota or if they were stunned at the details of the punishment. Midoriya put away his phone and sighed. A week's suspension? Sure it sounded terrible, but considering the other possibilities, it was the best he could have hoped for his friend. His immediate concern, however, was his detention on Thursday would conflict with going to Mashirao's home. Perhaps he could talk to Aizawa after class and make some arrangement, even if it meant staying longer another day instead. Izuku just didn't want to miss out and finally getting the chance to learn about Mashirao's past.

The door then opened with Eraserhead beckoning him in. Midoriya then peered inside to see his entire class staring at him. He took a deep breath and prepared for the worst as he stepped inside.

* * *

It was Thursday afternoon. and Izuku was walking hand and hand with Tooru towards Mashirao's home. Behind them, Ochako and Tenya were doing the same, and Momo brought up the rear.

On Tuesday, during his detention, Midoriya had explained to Aizawa about the situation with Ojiro. Surprisingly the homeroom teacher decided to call off his student's detention for Thursday. He never stated why but reminded Izuku to remember the paperwork arrangement for Friday.

Midoriya had pondered for the last few days why he let him go. Did Eraserhead feel that perhaps he had been too harsh in his verdict? Did he value his student's friendship enough to allow this? Or was he just being unpredictable as he always was? It baffled the teen.

Class and lunch for the past few days were very awkward for Izuku. He tried his hardest to keep quiet about the whole thing even to his friends. Tooru was frustrated the most about it but she was gradually asking less and less about it as the days went by. Finally today she apologized for being so aggressive about it and stated she was just really worried about Mashirao.

Detention wasn't so bad, as Midoriya just used it to study. But something else did bother him. Koda had been absent since Monday. It really concerned Izuku and he was tempted to ask Eraserhead if everything was alright. If he didn't see Koji tomorrow, then he was determined to try and confront his teacher about it.

The group mood was quite gloomy when Thursday finally came around. They had already decided to go together to the train station when classes had finished. As the students arrived and left the station, they remained silent.

What was there to say? Izuku figured until Mashirao detailed what was going on, there wasn't much to talk about. And besides maybe Tooru, none of the others were very gossipy. Her lack of opinions about what was going on did unnerve Midoriya. It felt out of character for Hagakure. Which made the time up to this point all the more serious and somewhat awkward.

The neighborhood the group were walking through was a bit sketchy as there was a lot of graffiti, at least one homeless person every other street, and many of the houses and businesses looked run down. They soon came up to a group of houses that were slightly less run down and eventually came up to Ojiro's home. It was an old one-story brick house that had the most well kept lawn than any home they had seen since getting off the train. They all approached the front door, and Midoriya reached a hand out to knock it.

Mashirao answered within seconds and looked to be in a good mood once he saw everyone had come to see him. He said, "Come in, come in. It's not much, but it's home for me."

As the tailed teen showed them into the living room, Izuku noticed how simple the house was. There wasn't much furniture, and little in decorations could be found. He also noticed a quiet hum that could be heard throughout the house and wondered what it was.

Ojiro took a seat on the floor in front of a large oval low-lying coffee table. There were two couches around the table. One was a three seater, and the other was a love seat. Tooru sat down on the smaller couch, and Izuku followed. On the other couch sat Tenya, Ochako, and Momo, in that order. As Midoriya sat down, he noticed an air purifier in the corner of the room. Was this the source of the noise he was hearing? Either way, everyone took off their backpacks and got comfortable.

Ojiro started by saying, "Thanks everyone for coming, and sorry for keeping you out of the loop for so long. It's been a tough couple of days for me, but I hope I can answer any questions you have for me."

Tooru was the first to ask in a worried tone, "Where are your parent's Ojiro-san?"

"Oh, my mom is here, but she's sleeping. She works night shift cause she likes working on the streets at night as a cop, so she sleeps for most of the day on weekdays. My dad's hours are a bit more erratic since he's a detective but he mostly just works during the day, and he's currently at work," the tailed teen explained while scratching the back of his head.

The invisible girl replied back, "Oh, okay. That's reassuring."

Momo was then quick to ask, "Can you start by explaining why you have a grudge against the wealthy?"

The question got some odd looks from Ochako and Tenya. Izuku felt Tooru shift in her seat and suspected she was confused as well.

Mashirao shot a glance at his friend before replying, "Sure. That's a good place to start anyhow." He breathed in deeply and exhaled before explaining, "It goes back quite a bit, even before I was born and begins with my dad. He grew up on Kyushu island (southernmost major Japanese island). There are a lot of coal mines in the northern part, and that's where he and his family worked for a living. They were all dirt poor and worked there despite the industry being in shambles compared to what it used to be."

Ojiro rubbed his temple for a few seconds before continuing, "Sure, they could have done some shady dealings with the yakuza for easy cash since they are so common in that part of Japan but my dad and his folks prided working an honest living. Because of how terrible things were, my dad worked in the mines even as a kid. The company they worked for was really shady though. They were too cheap to buy equipment to mine the coal, so they hired mostly manual labor. Eventually, a lot of the workers started getting sick, and they started firing those that complained. My dad stayed the longest out of the family, but eventually he too got sick as well."

Tenya then spoke up and asked, "What did they catch? Black lung?"

"My uncle did, but the rest of them got COPD," the tailed teen said slowly. Ida and Yaoyorozu gasped at his response.

Tooru asked in a confused tone, "Anyone mind telling us less informed people what that means?"

"It's an abbreviation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It's a lung disease that causes long-term breathing problems because of the break down of lung tissue," Momo explained in a somber voice. She then looked at Mashirao and asked, "How bad does he have it?"

Ojiro put a hand on his chin as he responded with, "As long as he keeps a normal walking pace and doesn't push himself he can do just fine. But anything strenuous will cause him to have an exacerbation or a worsening of his symptoms which is usually a long coughing fit and a shortness of breath."

Uraraka then stated, "That doesn't sound too bad. I mean yeah it's terrible and all but if he takes things slow then."

Ida interrupted his girlfriend and said, "It's only going to get worse as he gets older Ochako. There is no cure; you just treat the symptoms. Eventually just getting out of bed will be a struggle for his father."

Midoriya remembered back to when he met Mashirao's dad. His sickly and thin appearance was all because of this disease? And it was only going to get worse? This had to be eating away at Mashirao. Izuku then asked with concern, "So what happened next to your father and his family?"

Mashirao crossed his arms as he explained, "My dad has always been a hard worker and a quick learner. Even between working my dad self-taught himself academics with books that my grandparents were able to scrounge up for him. They all eventually pooled money together and raised enough for him to move here to Honshu island (the largest island of Japan) because they thought he deserved better. The rest of his family went further into poverty and started living off government assistance to get by."

Ojiro then took a moment before continuing with, "After taking some tests and working with whoever he could find that would help, he was able to get into a college that specializes in criminal justice. My father was convinced that the company he worked for had done something underhanded that put the workers at risk and could take them to court. After he graduated, he worked with some of his lawyer buddies in college to make a case."

Mashirao then paused to smile before saying, "As the case was being made he got a job on the police force and met my mom. My dad says she was big motivation to continue pursuing the case against that company during this time." He then sighed and continued with, "Eventually it was found that the company had ignored various laws on safety that the coal miners had no idea existed because of their lack of education. My dad won a huge settlement, and the company buckled under quickly after that. But instead of taking the money for himself he spent the next few years finding employees that worked at the coal mine and giving them an equal share of it. The company fell apart too quickly to get justice for everyone else involved. The rest of the sick in my family came here for treatment. But only my uncle and grandma are still alive today, and they are in assisted living because they are in the advanced stages of COPD."

There was some time of silence after Ojiro had finished, as it was a lot to process. Midoriya eventually stated, "Your dad sounds like an amazing person."

Mashirao gave a soft smile as he replied, "Yeah, he is a big reason I wanted to become a hero. It's hard not to be inspired to do good when dad is such a badass." This got a soft chuckle from everyone, and it helped lighten the mood a bit.

After the laughter died down Hagakure asked, "So why do you live in a place like this? Why not move someplace nicer?"

"A couple of reasons. My dad had limited choices when he first moved here and went for the cheapest options. Another is because the assisted living and a good hospital that could treat him and his family are nearby. Even nowadays money is tight, so we can't move everyone and still be close to one another. My family still have to support my grandma and uncle. My dad's medical insurance from his job handles his various medications and antibiotics but everything else he needs to accommodate for this disease is out of his and my mom's pocket," Ojiro replied in a sorrowful tone.

Izuku pointed to the corner of the room and said, "So such things like that air purifier over there?"

The tailed teen nodded before explaining, "Yeah. We have one of those in every room. The better the air quality, the easier it is for him to breathe. They of course also hike up our electric bill. Then to help my dad get around, he got an electric car. He also hired a personal trainer and nutritionist to keep himself in shape. The healthier he is, the longer he'll last till he becomes bedridden. Then there's oxygen therapy as well, and he sleeps with a breathing machine to prevent exacerbations from occurring at night. I could go on and on but it all adds up."

Mashiaro sighed before saying, "So even though my parents have great paying jobs, sometimes we are living paycheck to paycheck because there is so much to spend it on. I'm lucky my Muay Thai instructor started training me for free once he realized my situation years ago or otherwise I might have never been able to come to our current school."

Again the room became quiet. Everything was just so hard to swallow for Izuku. Momo and Tenya came from affluent families and never experienced such hardships. While he wasn't well off himself, nothing about his family came anywhere close to what Mashirao was experiencing. He didn't know the specifics about Tooru's folks, but he guessed they all lived happily together. If anyone could compare to what his tailed friend felt it would be Ochako, but despite her poor status, she had healthy parents. Just how much was Mashirao holding in?

Momo then slowly asked, "So I get the part that you hated those vile people that were in charge of that coal company. They played with people's lives all for greed. But how does that relate to what happened on the roof on Monday?"

Mashirao placed both palms on his cheeks as he let his elbows sit on the coffee table. He then answered with, "That all stems from my previous school. Between my first and second year of middle school year, our school district lines were redrawn and my neighborhood was now meant to go to a rich kid academy. It was a public school, but since it used to reside in an entirely wealthy district, it was never made into a private school. Of course, there was a backlash from that community, but it was shot down, and poor kids like me started attending there."

The tailed teen's face hardened as he said, "We were all subject to endless ridicule and mistreatment from the well-off kids and sometimes even the faculty. Monoma was a regular in all of this. Koda-san was one of the few kids I knew from before going there, and so when I saw him getting bullied, I felt obligated to protect him. I was never expelled despite getting into fights all the time because I was never the aggressor, at least on school grounds."

Ojiro's face looked in disgust as he said, "Eventually the hate just boiled over. Outside of school, I started picking fights with the bullies any chance I got, and it just made the problem worse at school. My parents eventually noticed me getting cuts and bruises on days they didn't receive a phone call from my school me fighting and confronted me about it. I ended that behavior after that. That period of my life wasn't that long ago, and it still infuriates me that I thought it was the only answer I was able to come up with for a while. It was one thing to fight to defend another and another when I started to become the instigator of it. I can't deny I still held a grudge against rich people until I got to know both Ida-kun and Yaoyorozu-san more."

After he had finished, Momo stated, "Well in the short time I've known you Ojiro-san you have changed for the better."

Izuku very much agreed with what the tall girl said and also voiced his opinion by saying, "It's like night and day."

In an intrigued voice, Tenya then asked, "This all explains your behavior just before and during our first study session but why did you never act that way around me?"

Before Mashirao could respond, Ochako replied, "You didn't reveal your background to Ojiro-san until a couple of days after our double date, remember?"

"Oh right, that seems so long ago now that I think about it," Ida stated as he tapped his cheek and looked upward.

After a couple of moments of silence, Hagakure spoke up and said, "So has that bastard messed with you or Koda-san at our current school?"

Everyone saw Tenya restrain himself from commenting on the invisible girl's language. It got a giggle out of both Ochako and Tooru.

After both girls finished, Ojiro replied with, "No. I knew he was at U.A. cause I caught a glimpse of him at the opening ceremony, but minus a few glares here and there this Monday was the first time we had spoken to one another since I came to this school. I've kept regular contact with Koda-san and he never mentioned running into him either. I don't know what spurred him to elbow Midoriya-kun in the back of the head though. There's been plenty of time since the villain invasion during our rescue training and the Hero Killer incident."

This puzzled Izuku as well, but something more pressing was bothering him, and he asked, "Vlad King mentioned you asking questions about his student during your internship after I finished telling the adults my side of what happened. Was that the reason you wanted to work with him?"

Mashirao sighed before answering, "Yeah. I wanted to know if he had changed for the better or not. I waited until the third day of my internship to ask about Monoma. I just casually brought up that he and I went to the same school. I then asked how he was doing, and Kan-sensei said that Monoma was brilliant but had questionable ideals. It sounded like he hadn't changed at all to me, so I quickly dropped the subject and never brought it up again. Regardless, I still learned a lot from the pro hero so it wasn't a total waste."

A sudden noise grabbed everyone's attention. A woman in a nightgown entered the kitchen and had begun to make some coffee. Izuku guessed she was Mashirao's mom. She had blond hair that reached just above her shoulders. The woman was taller than her husband and seemed to have quite a muscular figure. She hadn't noticed the room full of teenagers by her side.

Mashirao then cleared his throat loudly which got her attention. The mother yawned before saying, "Oh right, you said you were bringing your friends over today. Hi everybody." She gave a weak wave and had a ditzy grin on her face.

Everyone but the younger Ojiro said their hellos, but she was quick to finish making her coffee and leave the room. After she left, the tailed teen said, "So yeah that's my mom."

Tooru was quick to state, "Man she looked jacked. Is that her quirk?"

"Sorta. She calls it Bulk-Up. My mom can strengthen and expand her muscles to ridiculous proportions but only one limb at a time. But that was just how she normally looks," Mashirao answered.

Izuku now understood his tailed friend's quirk in full. He inherited the strength quirk from his mom but it only applied to his tail, which he got from his dad, and the strength part was always activated it seemed. All Midoriya could say though in response was, "Cool."

Ojiro then said, "My mom might not be brightest, but she's a hard worker and has been a great training partner for me because of her quirk."

After a few moments, Uraraka then asked, "Could you tell us in detail about what happened in your fight on the roof?"

Ojiro was happy to explain in detail and even Midoriya pitched in here and there as well. After he finished, the tailed teen was starting to look a bit exhausted and then said, "Unless you guys have any more major questions I think I'm going to call it here, this has been quite tiring for me."

Izuku spoke up and asked, "I have one. You said Monoma had a time limit on his copy quirk but he kept on using it anyways after it stopped. Did you ever find out why?"

Mashirao nodded and then explained, "I brought it up to Kan-sensei during my explanation of what happened. He said they found bits of Kamakiri-san's shedding in his pockets. Apparently, Monoma had collected some from him, since he was shedding that day. All he needs is just a bit of someone's DNA to copy their quirk, but since he kept using the same piece to copy, the duration of his quirk got shorter and shorter."

Mashirao then got up but Izuku was quick to as well and approached him. He wasn't prepared for his friend to give him a tight hug and say, "I'm glad you didn't get expelled Ojiro-kun."

In a shaky voice, Ojiro replied, "Yeah me too."

Hagakure then came up and hugged him from behind and proclaimed, "Me three!"

The others joined in as well, and it became a big group embrace. Mashirao gave an awkward chuckle before stating, "Thanks, guys but this is a bit much."

"Oh, this is so precious," came a feminine voice from the kitchen. The older Ojiro had returned and was dressed in an officer's uniform. She was taking a photo with her phone.

Mashirao went a bit pale as he yelled, "Mom!"

* * *

 **So Mashirao's side story comes to a close, somewhat. Of course, it's not like Ojiro is going anywhere but his time in the spotlight has passed for now. It's almost time to tackle some significant events in the manga for a couple of chapters. Next chapter we'll see the final study session and the visit to Tooru's house. After that, it's gonna be a rollercoaster of manga plot summaries with some new/altered in-between scenes from the events until the Hideout arc ends.**

 **So Mashirao x Tooru is the most popular ship for both characters (and pretty much their only one, minus harem fics involving Tooru, but that doesn't count). So when I decided to have my fic be Izuku x Tooru, I felt I should still use Mashirao in some capacity, as I thought I couldn't just ignore what friendship we see between the two in the manga anyhow. It's also interesting to explore Hagakure's relationship with him if it wasn't romantic. Ojiro eventually became a major character as I brainstormed the early plot of this fic. It was one reason why I chose the first cover art for my fic (though there are very little pickings for images that have Izuku and Tooru together in the first place). I do feel I might have made Ojiro a little too OOC in this fic, however. Though I guess one could argue how we see him the manga is how he treats acquaintances and how I portray him here is how he acts with his actual friends. However, with how little I'm given about his character from the source material what'cha gonna do? ;p**

 **Now let's talk about Neito Monoma. I felt Mashirao's personal hate for the wealthy (outside his dad's past) needed to stem from someone (as opposed to never specified classmates from his past), and he ended up being my choice. His personality and hero costume gave me the impression that he came from a wealthy family. Plus he's from class 1B, so another lesser used character to use! It's funny, even Kohei Horikoshi didn't intend Neito to be an asshole when he first designed him (as he's looks are based on someone he knows in real life) but it just happened down the line apparently. And of course, I made him an even more of a bully here. He's not done being used either; he'll show up from time to time when appropriate.**

 **Koda usage again! He'll continue being a minor character that will appear here and there as things progress. I already have a general idea of how I wanna use Koji, but minus a small part in chapter fifteen I have planned, we probably won't see him again till the dorms. Speaking of lesser used characters, I got a few ideas on how to incorporate some more in the future, with one that might become another regular minor character. I don't wanna force small characters into the story but them popping in and out couldn't hurt if they fit in certain scenes. Plus using such minor characters in bigger roles than the manga has kind of become a tertiary theme for this fic anyhow.**

 **Wrote some action in this chapter (even if it was short), so that's a first for me. I still feel I'm not good at writing it, as it's a slow process with me having to visualize everything that's happening and go over the scenario over and over to make sure that it makes sense and flows naturally. But oddly, I find Tite Kudo's (author of Bleach) approach to drawing battles works for me. This involves playing music as you draw/write battles (usually something blood pumping like classic rock, trailer music, specific jazz, or epic orchestra). It just gets me in the mood to write a fight sequence, since I usually dread the thought as I'm just not confident in myself in writing it. More actions scenes will happen (though probably not again until the secondary theme comes full circle) and hopefully, I will improve as I go. But again this will remain mostly a slice of life fic, as it's what I feel more comfortable writing anyhow.**

 **All the stuff concerning about Mashirao's dad involves a good bit of truth. Some of the cities and prefecture stated in the manga are different than what real-life Japan is like. So I chose just stick to island names since I don't think those have been changed. But the fact that it has coal mines and a high number of yakuza there is accurate as of today. Yeah the coal industry is on the decline nowadays, and it would make sense that it would be replaced by alternative forms of energy by the 22nd century, but I wanted to drive home how poor his dad's side of the family was. Also, COPD is a real thing. I wanted to give Mashirao's dad an incurable but some-what manageable disease, and this one spoke to me the most. Maybe it's because both my mom and middle brother went into nursing in their careers (I went with biology/teaching) that I went for this plot point, but regardless I found it interesting and went with it. I might have summarized some things here and there but I wanted to go for realism so tried to keep as factual as possible.**

 **Going by follows, I'm now in the top 50 fics on for this series now, with 361 followers which puts me at rank #49. If we go favorites, which it's at 248, it's at rank #74. Rank advancement has slowed down quite a bit after I hit the top 100, but it's been steadily climbing with each chapter release. Either way, thanks for all the support!**

 **Astros win it all! First world series win for the team (team's franchise started in 1962)! Was such a great series that could have gone either way really, Dodgers put in some work to make it a 4-3 series. I wrote a bit over 5k words between both games while they were on the air, so that was helpful to get such a good head start on this chapter. ;p**

 **See you again on November 27th for chapter fourteen!**


	14. The Comforts of Her Home

Chapter 14: The Comforts of Her Home

The sound of rustling paper could be heard in a nearly empty spacious room. It was Friday, so most of the teachers had already left their offices.

Except one, and it was Eraserhead.

The pro hero was sitting at his desk typing away at his work computer while Izuku sat on the floor behind him. He was surrounded by twenty large accordion folders that were filled to the brim with paperwork. For the last two hours, Midoriya had looked through all the permission slips, medical forms, and written plus practical tests for the semester of all his classmates. He was surprised that Aizawa was letting him see such things, well besides the permission slips. Izuku thought that medical information was confidential and that at the very least it was inconsiderate to look at his class's grades. He was tempted to ask Shota about it, but he was being kept so busy with the paperwork that he wasn't getting a chance.

Eraserhead had told him at the start of his detention, that at the end of the semester all homeroom teachers had to submit all paperwork for their students in individual folders. Aizawa, however, had been lazy about this whole process and never separated them by each student and they were instead still stacked by subject matter. So at the start, the teacher double checked if he had entered all the grades correctly. Then he made sure permission forms were signed and that the medical forms were up to date. Finally, Shota would then hand off the piles of paper to Izuku to separate into the various accordion folders.

Midoriya did his best to not look at his classmate's grades, but he couldn't help himself from occasionally taking a peek at their medical forms. He was able to confirm that Momo did wear contacts and that she was far-sighted. The glasses she wore during their study session turned out to not just be for show. But why didn't Tenya wear contacts? Especially with how often his glasses broke.

Either way, another tidbit Izuku found out was that Koji was a vegetarian. It made sense that Koda would have an issue eating animals that he needed to work with. Speaking of the large teen, he was happy that Koji finally came back to school today. He was quite nervous and it took some convincing from Izuku and Fumikage to get him to enter the classroom. Koda had been standing outside the classroom in the morning and was struggling to go inside. The two boys eventually got him to come in, and luckily it was still early as a larger classroom of students might have been too much for him. He still needed to thank Tokoyami for the help, as he didn't get the chance today.

After Midoriya separated what looked to be his teacher's assessment of each of his student's results from the Hero Festival, Aizawa said his helper could take a break. He reached down below his desk and pulled out some juice boxes from a mini-fridge. The teacher threw a juice box over to his student before placing one for himself on his desk. As Izuku took his straw from the packaging, he looked over at his accordion folder and pondered what his evaluation had been. Shota poked his bendy straw into his drink but continued to look at the computer as he said, "Wondering about what feedback I gave you during the Hero Festival?"

Izuku flinched at the question, which made his teacher sigh in annoyance. The boy took a deep breath before replying, "Yes. Just going from the pro hero draft picks it's hard to tell how well or bad I did."

Midoriya might have gotten praise from All Might about his performance but other pros heroes seemed to think otherwise. The draft pick results, which they received their first day back at school after the Hero Festival, was dominated by Todoroki and Bakugo. They got about 85% of them, which meant they received thousands of votes. Midoriya was happy that Ida got fourth, with 301 picks, and so was Uraraka who shook the tall teen to congratulate him. The heroine herself placed eighth, but with only twenty picks. But himself? He wasn't even posted. Only the top nine were, and at ninth was Sero with fourteen votes.

Izuku wondered, did he even get a pick from anyone other than All Might? Midoriya then continued by saying, "I mean sure, I've received some praise about how I did, but most of them weren't pro heroes. And that was the point of the Hero Festival, right? To get your name out there to the hero industry?"

"Maybe if you're All Might," the pro hero huffed. He then looked over to his helper before saying, "Sure, getting early notoriety is great and all but I think your mentor's ideals might be rubbing off you a bit much Midoriya-san. Unless you're very concerned about what your number of options in the hero industry will be the moment you graduate from here, then it's not a huge deal if you didn't get a lot of draft picks. I'm personally more concerned if my students learned something about themselves or from others they observed that day."

As both began to drink their juice, Izuku remembered back to before the Hero Festival. His idol had changed the boy's mind from not wanting to stand out to wanting to try and place first. But what option was the right choice? Was there even one? Would other options had changed anything anyways?

Before Izuku could ponder further into this thought, his homeroom teacher asked, "You really wanna know how you did from my point of view?"

Midoriya vigorously shook his head up and down a few times in response.

Aizawa gave a soft grunt then proceeded to suck out all the contents of his juice box big in one big slurp before explaining, "If you must know, my evaluation of your performance was a mix of praise and disappointment. The first two events showed me your progress of controlling your quirk, and in the specific case of the first event, knowing when not to use your quirk. Out of everyone in your class you have the least control over your power, though you've also had it for the least amount of time. So any progress you have is quite drastic compared to your peers."

The homeroom teacher paused and then took a deep breath before saying, "But then came the tournament."

Izuku lowered his head and thought, here it comes.

Shota noticed this but continued by saying, "I'm sure you've got an idea of what I wrote about how you did during the tournament portion of the Hero Festival. But there are some parts I didn't include in my evaluation."

This last statement got the student to raise his head.

"You pulled Todokori-san out of a dark path and got him to realize his full potential. That was something that I thought would take me a considerable amount of time to do, if at all. And you did it in less than a day. So for that, you have my deepest thanks," Eraserhead stated with a hint of praise in his voice. He then reached forward and gave a sudden but soft chop to his student's head which startled Midoriya.

With a stern voice, Aizawa then said, "But I've never seen Recovery Girl get so angry at a student before. You shouldn't be relying on her to always fix up your self-induced injuries in a non-life-threatening situation. Though I feel your mentor shares some of the blame for installing that signature of bravado of his into you."

Izuku was about to apologize, but the sound of a door opening grabbed both his and Aizawa's attention.

It was All Might in his muscled form. The hulking hero closed the door before asking, "Is it just you and Midoriya-san here?"

Shota gave a single nod before the number one hero sneezed and burst into a cloud of smoke. He walked out of the steam rubbing his nose and stated, "Excuse me." Toshinori made his way over and looked down at his successor who was surrounded by paperwork. He then turned his head to Eraserhead and said, "This looks to be a bit much."

"My student, my punishment. Besides I let him skip yesterday's detention," Aizawa stated bluntly.

Intrigued, All Might asked, "Hmm, why was that?"

Midoriya stood up and said, "Ojiro-kun offered to tell my friends and me why he did what he did, and for it to be on Thursday after school. I told Aizawa-sensei of the situation after class on Tuesday, and he was okay with me going over doing detention."

"That was awfully nice of you," the skeleton of a man said with shock as he looked at his co-worker.

Shota gave an irritated grunt but said nothing.

Toshinori scratched the back of his head before saying, "Well anyway, this is pretty sly of you to use a student of yours to catch up on end of the semester paperwork."

Eraserhead's eyes were closed at this point, and his eyebrow twitched at the statement, but again he gave no response.

All Might gave a wheezed sigh before turning to his student and asking, "Mind if I help?"

"Very much so," Aizawa finally responded.

Toshinori held his hands up defensively as he said, "Just offering."

Shota threw away his empty juice box as he asked, "Why are you here?"

All Might placed a fist down into an open palm as he stated, "Oh, right. I wanted to discuss the changes to the final exam that I read in that email."

Izuku ears perked up when he heard this.

Eraserhead shrugged as he asked, "What else is there to say?"

The skeleton of a man responded with, "Well I understand what was changed, just not why. I didn't attend the meeting because-."

Aizawa interrupted by saying, "Because you were out maintaining your symbol of peace status, I get it." He turned around back towards his computer before stating,"Let me and Midoriya-san finish this paperwork first then I'll answer your question."

"Thanks, pal," Toshinori said with a big grin on his face.

As All Might made his way to his desk, Midoriya heard his homeroom teacher mutter, "He must be a handful to have as a mentor."

Izuku softly chuckled at Eraserhead's words which seemed to annoy the pro hero.

* * *

"I'm so thrilled about tomorrow, Izuku," Tooru almost squealed as they turned right on the street towards Momo's home one last time.

Tomorrow Midoriya would finally be going to his girlfriend's home. It still surprised him that he was mostly okay with this.

Izuku scratched the back of his head as he asked, "So um, do you have a plan of what we'll do once I arrive?"

Tooru then explained, "Well to make sure you're comfortable with everything I thought after meeting my folks we could hang out in my room for a bit and go from there. You know, to mirror my first two visits to your place."

Midoriya sighed in relief before saying, "Sounds good to me." He was grateful his girlfriend was so considerate about his anxiety with their relationship. It was helping him keep calm as the visit to her house approached closer and closer.

The two walked for a minute before Hagakure asked, "You think Ojiro-san is gonna show up today?"

Izuku was quick to answer, "Of course he will! Why wouldn't he?"

"Well he might not be ready to see the other classmates just yet considering everything that happened," Tooru said in a concerned tone.

She did have a point. Mashirao wasn't ready to talk to even his close friends until two days ago. But Midoriya felt that his tailed friend would want to study one last time together before the finals. He then said, "There are just a few more people today, so I think he'd be able to handle it."

"I hope so," Hagakure replied sounding not entirely convinced.

The two arrived at Momo's front gate, and Tooru spoke into the intercom while holding down the button, "Hiya there! Yaoyorozu-san's friends here for another day of academic fun!"

Almost immediately a timid voice responded, "Good morning. The gate will be opened momentarily."

Izuku recognized it as Ari's voice. Out of all the servants he had met, she seemed the most mysterious. Sure he hadn't met the cook yet, but from what Ozama had said the last weekend he had a decent idea of Sakurai's personality. Midoriya would have been more curious about her if this wasn't their final study session. But perhaps they would continue doing these in future semesters. A lot could happen though in the future, he pondered.

Ari was standing outside by the front door once the couple arrived. She silently opened the door for them and bowed. Izuku's curiosity got the better of him, and he asked before walking inside, "Ozama-san do you have a quirk?"

The boy question seemed to surprise both women, as Tooru did a quick turn around and Ari showed a slight blush.

The female butler asked, "I beg your pardon, sir?"

"Midoriya-kun let's not bother the nice butler," Hagakure said while grabbing his arm and giving it a pull.

"It's quite alright miss, I'm not offended or anything. It's just guests usually don't ask me such a question," Ozama said to reassure the invisible girl. She then asked in a curious voice, "But I would like to know why I am being asked if I have a quirk?"

Tooru continued to hold Midoriya's arm but stopped pulling. He then explained, "Well Yasumura-san is quirkless, and I was wondering if that is common in this profession."

Hagakure asked with a confused tone, "Quirkless? How would you know that?"

"Yaoyorozu-san told me some time ago. I'll talk about it later I promise," Izuku said while increasing his grip on her hand. This got a sigh from her, but she didn't argue.

Once Ari noticed Tooru calming down, she crossed her arms as she explained, "It is actually quite common for butlers or maids to lack quirks. In fact, I'm the only one on our staff that has a quirk at all." She then reached into her left pant's pocket and pulled out a radio. She grasped it with both hands and then let it go, but it remained airborne. Ozama then twirled her index fingers, and the device started to spin.

"Telekinesis," Izuku said slowly with awe.

Ari gave a soft smile before replying, "Correct but it's quite limited. I can only control one object at a time. It also only works a few meters from my body and it's a struggle for me to move anything over twenty kilograms. Otherwise, I can get headaches and even a bad nose bleed if I push myself too hard."

Midoriya saw it as a stronger and more versatile version of his mom's quirk. He then said, "It still sounds like it could be helpful in your job."

The female butler gave a nod before stating, "It does help when I need to multi-task from time to time."

"Well, thanks for telling me Ozama-san," said Izuku before being pulled away by his girlfriend. Ari bowed then closed the door to await the other arrivals.

"You can be such a nerd sometimes Izuku," Tooru huffed as the two started to climb the stairs.

Midoriya tried to argue, "What? I was just curious."

Hagakure replied, "But we barely know these people. It comes off as weird to ask about such personal details. I'm okay with your questions Izuku cause I know you and how your mind works but maybe dial it back a bit around strangers."

"This might be the last time we come here for a while Tooru. Plus I truly was wondering if butlers and maids were usually quirkless," Izuku tried to explain.

This gave Tooru pause before saying, "About that. When did Yaoyorozu-san tell you that detail about her head butler?"

At this point, the two had arrived on the second floor, and Midoriya responded with, "It was the day of the first study session. But it's going to take a while to explain. I'll tell you when I'm at your place tomorrow, okay?"

Hagakure let out a short groan before saying, "Okay." She grabbed her boyfriend's hand, and the pair made their way down some halls before they arrived at their destination. Both were happy to see Mashirao was already there. Tenya was there as well, and he informed them that Momo had asked to be excused to go deal with something a few minutes ago.

"Honestly, I wasn't sure if you were gonna show up today Ojiro-san," Tooru stated as if she ashamed to say it.

The tailed teen rested his head on one of his palm's as he said, "I just figured I might as well finish this, I mean extra studying isn't gonna hurt. Plus it will make Monday less awkward if I meet some of my classmates now rather than later."

Ida then stated, "I recommend going to school early for the test like you did today. Walking into class to a bunch of stares would be more uncomfortable than you sitting at your desk and getting a few as they walk in."

Ojiro replied with, "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." He then turned to the couple and said, "You two might wanna separate. We'll soon have people here that are not in the know about your relationship." The pair let go of each other at this remark and thanked Mashirao.

Tenya continued with the subject by saying, "I suggest we also sit by gender. Even with our new arrivals, it's still an even split, five and five."

"Good idea. We wouldn't want you sitting next to Uraraka-chan and give Ashido-san any more ideas now would we," Tooru said mischievously.

With a slight blush, Ida stated, "You are right Hagakure-san. That would be quite troublesome."

* * *

The final study session went about at a brisk pace, as there was a lot to cover. There wasn't much time for gossip, as once everyone had arrived Momo was quick to begin. Before that point though, Mina was pestering Tooru about something, but Izuku had a good guess as to what. Denki and Hanta were talking with Mashirao about what happened on Monday, which he didn't seem to mind giving some details about it. Kyoka had asked Ochako about what they had done the previous weekends here, and she looked a bit jealous that she missed out. Tenya and Izuku mostly stayed quiet and listened in to the conversations around them, but the class president did eventually say that he might have a good idea what the practical might entail. Midoriya was going to ask how and what but Yaoyorozu arrived and immediately started the lesson.

Momo handed out her notes to the new arrivals and began her review by going over history and literature at the same time. Izuku guessed this was probably done to save time and the two did work well together in one lesson. She mixed in questions here and there, mostly at the new classmates attending, to see if they had been keeping up with their studying. Denki and Mina couldn't answer much, Hanta was half and half, but Kyoka was answering most of them correctly. To Midoriya, while it was mostly a repeat it was still nice to go over once more. It also reminded him of the good and not so good things that happened that day they went over this material.

With those subjects out of the way, it was soon lunchtime. However, someone else brought the food this time along with Yasumura. It was a rather large set man of average height. His hair was brown, and he had a thin pencil mustache that arched upward to his nose. The outfit he wore was that of an executive chef, an all white long sleeved shirt and pants with large red buttons that ran parallel up his shirt. A confused Momo asked, "Sakurai-san, why are you here?"

"It baffles me as well Yaoyorozu-dono," Makoto said as he started handing out plates to the hungry teenagers. Lunch was nankotsu (deeply fried chicken cartilage) which had some lemon juice squeezed on top of it and shishito peppers (sweet/mildly spicy green pepper) that been roasted in cooking oil on the side.

"Well excuse me for trying to come here to apologize for the late meal I made for our guests last Saturday," Takahiro stated as if offended by his boss's words.

The head butler sighed before replying, "You almost never leave the kitchen or your personal quarters next to it. So you being here today is odd regardless."

The chef gave his boss a cold stare as he continued to serve the food. Momo poked her large portion of food with a fork as she stated, "I guess our talk this morning amounted to nothing Sakurai-san."

"You know me better than to ask me to dumb down my dishes young master. I want to make exquisite dishes that display the best of what Japan has to offer. Not to make some foreign recipe from some distant land like some hand me down third rate street vendor," Takahiro complained.

Izuku tried to help by saying, "Well I liked what you served last weekend Sakurai-san. I thought the Kobe beef pizza was delicious."

The overweight man covered his face as if embarrassed at the compliment. "Not to offend you young sir, but I'd rather not be praised for that abomination I created that day. That was a desperate attempt to feed you kids with what little I had left. If only our master's guests had been truthful about their numbers then maybe I would not have resorted to what I made that day."

Midoriya sunk his head into his shoulders at his comment had not been very helpful. He looked across the table to see that Tooru was fidgeting around a bit. She must be trying not to laugh at the whole situation, he thought.

Yaoyorozu had her eyes closed and looked to be trying to ignore what was going on.

Yasumura walked over and stood next to the man before stating, "You're overreacting as usual."

Sakurai let out a laugh and then said, "Oh, that's rich coming from you with everything that happened that day."

"Yaoyorozu-sama randomly disappearing and leaving me alone with his wife was quite stressful I assure you," the head butler huffed.

Takahiro waved off the comment with a hand as he replied, "Oh you know that our master would have eventually shown up. He just needs a breather every once in a while, she is quite a handful."

Yasumura raised his voice as he said, "In the middle of a meeting concerning his company's financials?"

The cook shrugged and stated, "You and me both know he'd rather not run it anymore."

"That's beside the point," Makoto responded slowly while closing his eyes and grabbing the bridge of his nose with one of his hands.

Momo seemed to have enough finally and proclaimed, "Are you two quite done yet?" Her words got a jump from the head butler but only got Takahiro to roll his eyes. "Now if you'll excuse us we would like eat in peace. Yasumura-san you can come back later to pick up the dishes," the tall girl said in a demanding tone.

"Of course, Yaoyorozu-dono. And forgive me for my behavior, I let myself get carried away again," Makoto said with a bow before making his leave.

Once the suited man was gone the chef said, "Well what I said was true, so I do not need to apologize. I will say, however, that I am sorry for the last meal last weekend, that was beneath me. Anyways, I hope you kids enjoy my delectable meal, toodles!"

With his departure, Kyoka turned to her host and said, "So is this, like, normal in your house?"

"It's more of a recent thing," Momo said after a long sigh. "They used to tolerate each other but ever since Yasumura-san became the head butler they've been more vocal about their displeasure with one another. It can be really pathetic at times, and it sometimes gets me very angry at the two." The class vice president looked down at her food and seemed quite stressed about the situation.

A few moments of silence passed before Denki stated, "So can we like, eat now? I'm starving."

"Real subtle dude," Jiro responded bluntly.

Kaminari had a confused look on his face, but Yaoyorozu then shook her head and said, "It's fine. Let's dig in."

Lunch went by quickly and had a lot of chatter during it. Kyoka and Mina had a lot of questions for Momo about her mansion. Ochako and Tooru were discussing something, but Izuku was too far away to hear their conversation. Hanta and Tenya were talking about things they might experience at the summer training camp. Denki was still curious about the fight on the roof, and Mashirao was starting to get a bit annoyed at all the questions he was asking. Izuku remained mostly quiet, but once he noticed his tailed friend was becoming uncomfortable, he stepped in and started answering what he could.

Just as everyone was finishing their food, Sero turned to his host and asked, "Hey you wouldn't happen to know anything about our practical exam would you Yaoyorozu-san?"

Midoriya was expecting the host to dislike the question being asked, but instead, she gave a warm smile as she said, "Oh I don't think we need to worry about that."

This reaction seemed to catch everyone by surprise, except for Ida. He cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention before stating, "Let me explain. After our last meeting with the first-year student council last Friday, Kendo-san from class 1B approached us and gave information about the exam. Apparently, from asking an upperclassman, she learned that during previous years the practical final exam for the first semester is similar to the exercise we did during the entrance exam."

Mina and Denki were quick to stand and throw their arms in the air in excitement at the news. The others expressed their happiness as well through chatting, except for Izuku. He remembered the conversation between his teachers from yesterday. He breathed in slowly and exhaled before speaking up and grabbing the room's attention by saying, "Uh guys, I don't think that is how our exam is going to be anymore."

Tenya replied with shock as he asked, "And what makes you say that?"

"Well during detention yesterday, when I was helping Aizawa-sensei with, stuff, I heard about our exam had changed," Izuku said while scratching the back of his head.

Momo then said, "There's no way Eraserhead-sensei would have told a student about the exam."

Midoriya put his hands defensively as he tried to explain, "He didn't tell me exactly what it was. What happened was that All Might-sensei came into the room and asked why the final had been changed. Aizawa-sensei didn't say why in front of me but promised to tell All Might-sensei after my detention was over."

Ida then asked, "Did they say when it was changed?"

Izuku shook his head and replied, "No, but the decision must have been made just a few days ago if no one had informed All Might-sensei as to why yet."

A mix of groans and sighs reverberated throughout the room, with Mina's being the loudest.

Izuku apologized for revealing the fact but Momo said, "We should be thanking you Midoriya-san. We might have walked into that test under false assumptions, and it could have cost us."

Everyone agreed and praised Izuku which got a small blush from him.

Yasumura then entered the room to clean up, and the group continued their studying anew by going over English. Again Momo did the watching a news segment in English exercise for her group of friends and pulled aside the new arrivals for a private lesson. Tooru joined in for practice this time, and Izuku was glad she was there and that they were doing this again. Eventually, Kyoka and then Hanta joined in as well. The other two never showed up as Momo seemed to be having trouble with Denki and Mina. Once the news segment was over the group decided to try conversing with one another in English as a way to study while they waited for the other three to finish. After some time Yaoyorozu came back with Ashido and Kaminari, and each looked quite exhausted.

They all returned to their seats and Momo went through the final portion, modern hero art history. It was just as awkward and quick as it was last time, again because of Midnight's unique teaching methods. Once that lesson was over everyone thanked Momo for everything before they started to make their way home. The girls all left as a group first. Tenya was followed by Denki and Hanta not long after. Izuku tried to call his mom to tell her he was on his way home. After no response, he guessed she was napping and left a voice message. He was about to leave until he noticed Mashirao was still seated and was showing no sign of getting ready to go. Momo was busy tidying up her teaching materials and hadn't seemed to notice yet.

Midoriya leaned in and asked softly, "Hey, what's the hold-up?"

Ojiro continued to stare towards one of the windows as he said, "Just thinking about how things were before I came here to now. I was really against coming here in the first place. I needed a lot of convincing from a good friend to drag my ass here."

Midoriya chuckled but then stated, "Yeah you sure were quite stubborn. And a lot ended up happening to all of us since we started coming here for lessons."

"Too much if you really think about it. To start, I almost fought a quirkless guy twice my age. You and Hagakure-san became a thing, finally. Ida-kun and Uraraka-san have gotten closer. I'm sure Yaoyorozu-san has enjoyed our company and is hopefully a bit more confident about the practical exam. And then we had a sleepover last weekend, and that was, something entirely different alright. You and I had quite an experience this Monday," Mashirao explained but then paused for a bit. He sighed before continuing by saying, "In the end, we all learned a lot academically but equally about each other as well."

"It was quite a month alright. And I'm glad you came Ojiro-san," Momo stated, which surprised both boys. They turned to see the giggling girl at their side. After she calmed down from her laughter, she approached the tailed teen and said, "Hey so, once we get through all that is coming up and are back in school for our second semester, if you ever need help studying again, I'd be glad to have you over to help Ojiro-san."

Mashirao stood up and stated, "I'd like that Yaoyorozu-san. It's a bit far off until we need to study again, but I would definitely take you up on such an offer if I need it."

The trio said their goodbyes and the boys soon left. As Izuku walked beside his friend, he was trying to keep himself calm. What had just happened had thrown him for a loop. Midoriya knew what Yaoyorozu's invitation meant, as he had previously been told by Yasumura why she would do such a thing. It had come out of nowhere. Since when did Momo become interested in Mashirao? Could his tailed friend see through the invite? Ojiro had shown to be quite observant about most things before. But this was different, very different. Regardless Izuku decided not to bring up the subject, and the two talked about the possibilities of the school summer trip until they had to go their separate ways once they reached the train station.

* * *

The chilly, foggy weather felt nice for Izuku as he made his way towards his girlfriend's house that Sunday morning. It had rained late last night, and it was a cold front and had brought a nice drop in temperature from the ever crossing summer. Though it would not last that long, he appreciated it.

It had taken them some time, but he and his mom finally decided on a nice formal outfit. Midoriya was wearing a simple checkered collared shirt with a thin light green design with a white background. Over this, he wore the same shade of green hoodless jacket that he left unbuttoned. The boy's pants were long and jet black, but he didn't have any dress shoes that fit anymore, so he just went with his better pair of sneakers.

Was Midoriya nervous? Of course. He had a lot of trouble getting to sleep the previous night and had almost tripped over himself so many times on the way there he had lost count. But was he going to be able to do this? Most definitely, Izuku kept telling himself as he inched ever closer to his destination.

Tooru looked to be living in a friendly neighborhood. The place was of the upper middle class, it had bricked houses that were mostly two-story, and some of them even had a garage and a car or two. Each also had a decently sized front yard, though Midoriya couldn't tell the size of their backyards. When he arrived at the Hagakure household, he stood there for a bit to take it all in. The house was slightly larger than her two neighbors, but it lacked a garage. The lawn was nicely kept, and there was a small floor garden in front of the porch, which was to the right of the front door. The house had large windows, and everything about it looked quite clean at least on the outside.

After a deep breath, Izuku began walking forward and eventually stopped at the front door. For a few second he fiddled with his hands in anxiety but soon brought up a hand to knock on the door a few times. Not too hard but not soft either. The boy then heard a voice from inside, but he couldn't make out who or what it was. The door lurched open, and Midoriya was taken aback at the sight.

There stood a man that looked to have just woken up. The glaring issue was his lack of pants. Dark blue boxers with a white t-shirt were all he was wearing. The man had short black hair and looked like he needed a shave. He was rubbing his eyes which were squinted at the moment. After a yawn, he said, "Izuku Midoriya?"

"Y-Yes sir, that's me," Izuku replied with a shaky confidence.

The mysterious man stepped aside and motioned the boy to come in. Izuku walked into a barely lit hallway and heard the door close behind him. The grown man walked past his guest and made his way into a room to the left. Midoriya was becoming a bit unsettled about this. Where was Tooru? Was this her dad? Where was her mom? Why is this guy just in his boxers?

Izuku then peeked into the room to see it was an office. The man sat down at a desk that had three computer monitors set up. He turned them on and proceeded to open a small but slender container that contained glasses. After he put them on and got a good look at his guest, the man said, "So are you planning on going anywhere after this?"

With his eyes completely open now, Izuku noticed his bright blue eyes behind the spectacles. He then responded with, "No sir, I just plan to head home and study one last time before our written exam tomorrow."

The pantless man gazed for a few seconds at the boy and asked, "So why the get-up?"

"I was j-just trying to look n-nice," Midoriya said nervously.

The man behind the desk raised a hand and pointed at his guest before stating, "It looks like you wanna take my daughter out for a date."

So he is Tooru's dad, Izuku sighed internally in relief. But the statement still perplexed him. Why would he say that? He had already dated his daughter, like three times. He then said slowly, "Well, I've already d-done that a f-few times, sir,"

Hagakure sniffed and then said, "Heh, I've heard, and from what I can tell she had a lot of fun during all of them. But, did you wear something along the line of what you're wearing now on your dates?

"Um, N-No, sir," the green haired boy stated.

Tooru's father leaned forward and asked, "So why here?"

"To look presentable to you and her mother," Midoriya said like it was the obvious thing to do.

Hagakure tapped his chin for a few seconds before asking another question, "Did my daughter ever describe who me or my wife were like to you?"

Izuku only remembered that Tooru mentioned how she saw her family as dull, and about their professions. Nothing really about their personality. He then shook his head as he said, "Not really, sir."

The man gave a heavy sigh and then said, "Figures. Well, I guess your clothes will make my wife happy, but I don't really care what you dress like around here as long as it's something." He then turned his attention back to his monitors and began typing on a complex looking keyboard.

Midoriya was still baffled at what was going on. Tooru's father not caring at all about his appearance somewhat made sense, the man answered the door in his boxers. He seemed to know his daughter's boyfriend was coming, so why the informal greeting? The comment about Tooru's mom did comfort him though. At least wearing this wouldn't be a total flop.

Now that he had calmed down a bit, Izuku asked, "So where is Tooru?"

Hagakure lazily responded, "With my wife at work."

Midoriya was quick to ask, "Is everything okay?"

Maintaining his gaze on his monitors, the man replied, "Yes, yes all is fine. My wife works at a child daycare center. Two people called in sick this morning, so she dragged Tooru with her, so she wouldn't have to work by herself. They left a couple of minutes before you arrived."

Izuku couldn't see Tooru being happy about such a situation. He sighed and said, "I can't see her wanting to go."

Hagakure gave a soft chuckle before saying, "Yeah, she threw quite a fit but she eventually left once she calmed down and I talked to her."

Midoriya then asked, "How long will they be gone?"

"Till noon, so it's just you and me till they get back," the man stated after stopping his work and bringing his gaze back to his guest. Midoriya tensed up a bit at this as he stood at the entrance of the room. Tooru's father noticed this and asked, "Nervous?"

Izuku gave a single slow nod as a response.

The grown man crossed his arms as he said, "Don't be, I don't bite, as there's no need with you." He then motioned to a small sofa that was in front of his desk that had a low coffee table in front of it. The boy took a deep breath and then exhaled before walking over and taking a seat.

After a minute of hearing the constant sound of clicks from the keyboard, Izuku asked, "So what are you working on?"

"Creating a website. Not my usual work but the money offered was good, so I thought, why not. It's, just some small business that wants a user-friendly site for their products," Tooru's father answered joyfully.

Midoriya stated, "Tooru mentioned you do computer software."

Hagakure nodded as he said, "Yeah, I usually write programs. But it's nice to shake things up every once in a while."

Izuku looked around as he asked, "So you work at home?"

A small smirk appeared on the man's face before he replied, "Yep. I'm my own boss; it's the best. I get to set my hours, vacation days, and lunch breaks."

After a few moments of silence, the half-dressed man cleared his throat and asked, "So Midoriya-san, while we wait. Is there anything you want to ask about my daughter?"

Midoriya fidgeted in his seat as he said, "Wait, why are you making this that easy?"

"Cause I can. And, I'm sure she hasn't told you everything about her. She sure hasn't told us everything about you. Why not take this opportunity to ask her dad? We do have a few hours to burn," Hagakure explained while shrugging.

Izuku lowered his voice as he said, "It feels like cheating."

The man raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Even if I'm offering it?"

Midoriya groaned at the situation. This seemed very off. No father would offer tidbits about his daughter to a guy he just met, even if he was already her boyfriend. It just felt too weird. He did think of some questions though in his mind. Some that weren't about Tooru, but related.

Eventually, Izuku asked, "Is it okay if I ask what your quirk is?"

"Hmm, interesting, you didn't take the bait," Hagakure stated as he put a hand on his chin.

Midoriya began massaging his head trying to fantom what his girlfriend's father was trying to do these last few minutes.

The man, however, waved a hand as he said, "Woah, I'm just teasing you kid. Anyways, I'll answer your question with a demonstration." He stood up and then pointed at his head before saying, "Look here!" It took a second, but his head vanished, however, his arms and legs were still visible. He then continued by saying, "I used to love doing this at school or in the office. I've freaked so many people out with this."

Izuku gave an awkward chuckle at the last comment. He then cleared his throat and asked, "So you can't turn completely invisible like your daughter?"

His head reappeared, and when it did it was shaking back and forth. Hagakure answered while taking a seat, with, "Nah. Just one body part at a time. It's got no duration, and I can switch it on and off at a moment's notice, but for some reason, I could never extend it beyond that. Which sucked cause I wanted to be a hero when I was a boy. But since I never showed any improvement as I grew up I was rejected from any hero academy. So I turned to computers, and here I am today."

Midoriya asked with zest in his voice, "Is there anything else you can do with your quirk?" He was curious from Tooru's initial explanation of her quirk to him from their first days of school. She mentioned how she learned about the science portion of her quirk from her dad but drowned it out cause it sounded boring to her. Was there more to it that she had blocked out?

The half-clothed man raised a hand and turned it invisible before saying, "Well there is this." After a few seconds, the hand started to glow, and light started to emit from his hand in a low glow. Tooru's father continued by saying, "If I concentrate my refractions I can focus on one point and produce light." Even though the man's hand was still transparent, Izuku could see a faint outline of it because of the light.

With a fascinated look, the green haired boy asked, "Can Tooru do this?"

"Probably, if she worked on it. But she seems more interested in the stealth benefits of her quirk to care," Hagakure said as he deactivated his quirk and sat back down in his chair.

As Tooru's father returned to his work, Izuku was still trying to understand his behavior. Why was he being so friendly? Why was he not asking questions about how he had met Tooru or about their relationship at all? Had his girlfriend been open about her time spent with him to her parents? Was this man just a very laid back person that saw everything in a positive light? Was he just overthinking this again?

Midoriya had to know, so after a few minutes, he asked, "You seem very okay with me dating your daughter. I expected a little more, push back, I guess. Is there a reason for that?"

Hagakure gave a particular look at his guest. He then brought up his hands and rested his chin on them as he said, "It's simple, kid. Tooru is invisible and has been for most of her life. You love my daughter despite having no clue what she looks like. A face tells a lot about a person, yet my girl has none. That tells me you aren't some hormone infused boy looking at Tooru as some sex object. You love her because who she is, and that's what pure love is kid. So why would I have any problem with someone like that dating my daughter?"

Izuku leaned back into the sofa he was sitting in and went very red in the face. He thought, why do people always say these fantastic things about me but I always have no way to match such words and thank them properly. It didn't matter who it was, All Might, Tooru, Tenya, Mashirao, Ochako, Momo, Makoto, Shota, and now the man standing before him. They had all praised him before, and it left Midoriya tongue-tied.

Izuku then thought about his feelings for Tooru. Sure he was attracted to her, but it wasn't her looks, it was Tooru's personality and her love for him that defined themselves as a couple. Heck, they still had only kissed three times at this point. It wasn't a big part of their relationship, and Midoriya liked that. They could get more physical later; they were still teenagers after all.

With what his brain could muster at the moment, the Izuku answered with, "Thank you Hagakure-san, I think I understand."

The conversation and thought process had however left the boy a bit hot and bothered. He needed a change of scenery, somewhere he could be alone and collect his thoughts for a bit. Midoriya then asked, "Where is the bathroom?"

"Closest one is upstairs. Head back into the hallway and head up. It's the door on the right. When you're done, if you're interested, Tooru's room is on the left," the half-dressed man explained.

Izuku meekly responded with, "I-I shouldn't be in her r-room if she's not h-here!"

Hagakure sighed as he replied, "It's fine Midoriya-san, she always has it unlocked. And I trust you not to rummage through her underwear drawer anyways." Afterward, he let out a hearty laugh that the boy could still hear as he left the room and began to climb the stairs. Tooru's father sure is different than I expected, he thought as his face became even more crimson at the last comment the man said.

Once he had washed his face and drank a glass of water, Izuku left the bathroom and nervously looked to his right to see an open door. It was on the left of the hallway, and after a few minutes of staring at it, he approached. Midoriya took a while to take it all in as he stood in the doorway. It wasn't exactly unexpected for a girl's room. Tooru's bed sheets had a flower design; her window curtains had cherries, there were stuffed animals everywhere of all sizes, her chair to her desk was fuzzy, there were ribbons tied in a neat bow in various parts of the room. Yep, this seemed like the textbook definition of what a girl's room would be.

It took him awhile, but Izuku eventually walked in to get a better view of everything. The first thing that popped into view was a sleep mask on a stool by her bed. It was dark blue with a black border. He pondered, why does she have this? She has curtains to block the sun if she wanted to. But then it hit him. Everything about Tooru was transparent, and that would include her eyelids. She then would still be able to see everything perfectly fine even with her eyes closed. Tooru must use this to help her sleep, he guessed. Such a small detail, yet something Midoriya never considered or thought about. The complexities of being invisible still astounded the boy to this day.

When he passed Tooru's bed, he noticed the giant bear plushie from his girlfriend's confession date was sitting on her bed. But something brought him to an immediate halt. At the end of his girlfriend's bed was her clothes drawer. How did Midoriya know? Cause in front of it were some discarded articles of clothing. A white top with short blue jeans was on the floor. But the problem was what was in between them. There was underwear. It was only for a split second, but he couldn't deny the pair of blue panties and strapless bra he saw sandwiched in-between the other clothing.

Izuku turned his body and sat down on Tooru's bed as to not focus on what he had seen. He then pondered, why was he sitting on the bed? Izuku needed a minute to think. But as he thought he slowly realized how comfortable the bed was. His eyelids started to droop a bit, but he caught himself and shook his head. Was this because he had gotten so little sleep last night?

Midoriya then glanced over again at the foot of the bed and saw her clothing again. He then immediately threw the bear plushie onto it. After realizing what he did, he almost got up to pick it up but then realized what was under it. The flustered teen shook his head while thinking, why did he glance over there again? He felt confused that he had such a perverted urge to do so.

As he pondered more, Izuku's body eventually started to sag and he felt exhausted. Maybe his lack of sleep really was getting to him. Perhaps a few minutes of rest wouldn't hurt, he thought. After taking off his shoes, and with slow movement, the boy laid on his side and set his head on Tooru's pillow. He vaguely smelled mints as he adjusted his head. He remembered smelling something similar on his first date when they first hugged. The thought made Izuku smile, and he closed his eyes to rest for a bit.

* * *

Deep slumber.

It felt good.

Izuku knew he was fast asleep as his dreams began to play about. But he didn't care, he was very comfortable and felt quite safe.

Some time had passed, and something caused him to stir. Midoriya vaguely heard noises, but they stopped after a while. Could she be back? Should he get up? But after a while nothing happened, so he returned to his rest.

Some minutes passed before Izuku felt movement. Then squeezing. After a few more minutes he opened his eyes. As his vision slowly returned so did his feeling of touch. To start the room was now darkened. It wasn't night, but it was less bright than before. Midoriya felt something in between the side of his chest and his right arm. He could also feel something light on his back. Currently, the boy was laying on the left side of his body. Something heavy was pushing against his belly, well two things. He also felt something poking him in the top of his chest, in between his pecs.

After his vision was no longer blurry, Izuku looked down only to feel his nose and chin run through someone's rough hair. It was Tooru, and she was laying in her bed with her boyfriend. As Midoriya jerked his head back up to avoid looking down his girlfriend's exposed neck hole, he felt her fidget a bit.

"Afternoon you sneaky sleepy head," the Hagakure said in a soft voice.

Midoriya gave a long sigh before responded with, "A-Afternoon T-Tooru."

Izuku's mind started to piece things together. The object between his arm and side? Tooru's left arm. The light feeling on his back? Her left hand. The two things pressed against his belly? Tooru's breasts. The poking feeling from between his pecs? Her nose. It all unsettled him but she was clinging to him, so running away wasn't the answer. So Izuku reluctantly brought up his hands and held them behind her lower back which pulled her in slightly.

"I'm surprised how well you are taking this Izuku," Hagakure said with a pleased tone.

Midoriya breathed in and out slowly before answering with, "Well, p-panicking and p-pushing you away might h-hurt you, and I w-wouldn't want that to h-happen."

"I'm not that delicate, but I appreciate the concern I guess," Tooru huffed. Izuku fidgeted a bit to get more comfortable, but his girlfriend immediately asked, "Can we stay like this a little longer, please?"

The girl's question caught Izuku off guard, and he tensed up before replying, "S-Sure, a c-couple more m-minutes shouldn't h-hurt."

As the two enjoyed each other's company in silence, Midoriya started to look around the room a bit. The bear plushie was now on the side of the bed, which meant Hagakure had put away her clothing that was on the floor, he hoped. The door was closed, and the lights were off. He glanced down to see the curtains were now closed, but immediately looked up once he was able to confirm the position of the curtains as he didn't wanna catch a glimpse of his girlfriend's unmentionables. This explained the darker room, he thought.

As time passed, Midoriya calmed down and eventually asked, "So, how long have you been in the room with me?"

Tooru brought her boyfriend closer into a tighter embrace as she explained, "Not too long. I was hoping you would snooze for longer." She giggled a bit before continuing, "When I got back my dad told me you were upstairs. It surprised me that you'd be bold enough to come here without me. But then to find you sleeping in my bed? That's pretty crazy for you don't you think?"

Izuku replied, "I had trouble sleeping last night because of the thought of coming over here. After talking with your father for a bit, it finally caught up with me I guess."

Tooru then asked, "Were you scared to come here?"

Midoriya answered with, "No, I think it was more a mixture of anxiety and excitement."

"Well I'm glad you came here without me having to drag you," Hagakure replied quietly. She paused for a moment and cleared her throat before saying, "After I came to my room I noticed my bear plushie was no longer on my bed."

Izuku slowly gulped and dreaded what might happen next.

Tooru then said, "Sorry about leaving my clothes out like that. I'm sure that freaked you out a bit. And that's my bad. When my mom told me I had to go with her to work this morning, I was a bit furious about it all. I didn't want to work, I wanted to spend time with you." She gave a long sigh before continuing by saying, "But anyways, I needed to change into a different outfit for my mom's work and just decided to change everything. In my haste, I forgot to put my stuff up."

Izuku put a hand on her head and patted it as he said, "It's fine, you didn't do it on purpose. I only p-panicked for a few seconds." Her hair was still quite rough to the touch, but he didn't care.

"Thanks, Izuku," Hagakure stated in a merry voice. She then said, "After I cleaned up my mess, I just sorta stared at you while you slept peacefully."

The statement got a blush from Midoriya.

"And after some time passed, I wanted to join you, and well here we are," Tooru explained while giving the boy a tight squeeze.

Izuku returned the embrace, and two stayed that way for a minute before they loosened their grip on one another.

Hagakure then asked after a few moments, "So how was hanging out with my dad? Not too boring I hope."

It took a second for Izuku to work up the courage, but he replied, "Uh, when he greeted me, he had no pants on."

"Yeah, that's him to a T," Hagakure said with a chuckle. She then asked, after catching her breath, "Anything else?"

Midoriya didn't feel like going into the conversation of why the older Hagakure was being so friendly with him and instead stated, "Well he showed me his quirk."

"Yep, it's a less interesting version of my quirk," Hagakure replied said dully.

"I don't know he could do this neat light trick that I've never seen you do before," Izuku argued.

Tooru sighed before responding with, "True. I have never really have worked on that move that much."

"You should," the green haired boy said bluntly.

Tooru grunted before saying, "Eventually, but I wanna continue working on my stealth skills for now." The girl began to move and pushed herself away from her boyfriend. The two separated and sat upright on the bed.

Now that she was by his side, Izuku could get a good look at her. She was wearing a dark purple t-shirt that said volunteer on it, and it had some symbol on it, which the boy guessed was the day care's trademark. She also had black pants on and was currently wearing black socks as well.

Hagakure then leaned towards her boyfriend as she asked, "Why did you dress up so nice?"

"Your dad said the same thing," Midoriya said while scratching the back of his head.

Tooru tugged on his jacket as she stated, "You don't need to impress my parents that much, Izuku."

"Your dad said your mom would like it though," Izuku tried to argue.

Hagakure sighed before she replied, "True. She probably would, but it's still not needed."

Midoriya began to mope about all the time he went to choosing this outfit amounting to nothing as of yet. This brought a giggle from the girl, and she stood up afterward.

Tooru then walked over to her clothes drawer and said, "I'd like to change into something more comfortable. If you'd turn around please, like usual."

Izuku groaned as he asked, "Why can't I just step out and let you change."

"You should keep quiet and enjoy me teasing you Izuku. Now hop to it," Tooru demanded.

Izuku frustrated at this ritual instead laid down on her bed and put a pillow over her face.

"I guess that work too," Hagakure stated with a surprised tone.

Midoriya internally admitted he didn't exactly hate this, but he didn't know why his girlfriend was doing this. Was she hoping he would try and get a peek? Was this just to push his buttons? Izuku just got praised for not seeing Tooru as a sex object by her father, but yet she did things like this, and his damn hormones were secretly enjoying it.

After some time, he heard Hagakure say, "Okay, it's rated family friendly again in here."

Tooru then took the pillow away from Izuku. He was blinded by the sudden surge of brightness, which meant she had turned it on the light in the room. After his vision returned, he looked over at his girlfriend to see her change of clothes. Hagakure was now in a yellow t-shirt with light blue short shorts and now had bright blue snap bracelets on as well.

Before Midoriya could comment on her outfit, the door to the girl's room suddenly opened. A slender woman walked in carrying a small bowl. She was wearing the same outfit that Tooru had worn earlier but had no large text saying volunteer on it plus she was wearing a large white apron. Her most striking feature was her somewhat curly red hair and dark blue eyes.

The woman turned to Izuku and said, "You must be Midoriya-san."

Midoriya nodded and stated, "Y-Yes, ma'am." He was about to stand up, but the bowl the women was holding was thrust in front of him.

"You must be famished. This should hold you over until dinner," she said with a bit of concern. As the boy took the bowl, the woman then glanced over to Tooru and said, "You already changed out of your work clothes honey?"

Izuku spoke up and said, "Yes, I just got back into her room after I waited outside while she changed, ma'am."

The older Hagakure gave a questionable look between the two before saying, "Alright then. I'll see you both at dinner."

After she had closed the door, Tooru let out a long sigh and said, "Nice save there Izuku. That could have gone badly. She can be such a helicopter parent at times."

Midoriya started to eat what he soon noticed to be chicken noodle soup. As he did he began to think about what happened. His girlfriend seemed to have issues with her mother. And helicopter parent? Izuku's own mother was similar in personality to such a description. Yet Tooru and Inko seemed to get along just fine. So what was different about Mrs. Hagakure? Then a thought came to him.

"Should I avoid anything at dinner as not to anger your mom," Midoriya asked nervously as he placed the bowl of soup on the stool where Tooru's sleep mask was.

Tooru huffed before answering, "Please just act as you normally would Izuku. I sometimes can't understand what set's her off anyways. I love her to death, but she can be a hassle sometimes because of her overbearing attitude about my well being."

Izuku nodded and remained silent as he thought about what to ask next. After a few moments and a building up a bit of courage, he asked, "So, do you have red hair like your mom, Tooru? Or is black like your father"

Tooru responded as if not interested, "Yeah it's red, at least when I was little, but it's not like it that matters now."

While Midoriya agreed with his girlfriend's logic, it was giving him a better picture of what his girlfriend looked like. "True but it's interesting nonetheless," he tried to argue.

"If you say so," Hagakure answered as if bored with the conversation.

Trying to cheer her up, Izuku asked, "I know it might be a bit early to ask, but would you like to celebrate my birthday once our school trip is over? it can just be the two of us again if you want." It would basically also be their one-month anniversary, even though he knew that wasn't important in the grand scheme of thing, it was still felt special to him.

Hagakure tackled her boyfriend into the bed and kissed him directly on the nose before saying, "Of course I would! And yes, let's go alone again!"

Midoriya thought he would be used to this by now, but he still threw him off somewhat. Izuku held Tooru close as he said, "I haven't really thought what we could do together, but I'll think of something soon."

"You know I would be up for anything you decide," Hagakure stated as she pulled her boyfriend off the bed to an upright position.

Izuku nodded as he grabbed the bowl of food again. As he ate the rest of his soup, Tooru showed him her room. It was mostly about where she had gotten her plushies and dolls plus why she loved them. By the time she had finished, he was dragged over to her laptop.

Before Hagakure could show him anything, Midoriya stated, "Wait, before we move on I want to tell you how I found out Yasumura-san was quirkless."

A bit agitated, Tooru asked, "Why now?"

The boy replied, "Cause I promised I would tell you today."

Hagakure sighed before saying, "Sure, why not, it is odd that you know that fact I guess."

Izuku then went into great detail about why he had gone early to Momo's that day. He explained the various topics he and the tall girl discussed and about how Makoto loathed his presence. Tooru appreciated this as it better explained Mashirao's behavior against the head butler and that Momo was being so understanding about the situation. She thanked her boyfriend afterward for telling her.

The attention then turned towards Hagakure's laptop. Midoriya soon learned his girlfriend loved to watch Dokkiri shows, which focused on pranking people who were recorded on hidden cameras. The two watched a bunch of videos together from her favorite pranks for quite some time. At first, Izuku did find them funny, but some of the jokes started to feel a bit mean-spirited. Plus the ones with TV celebrities or sometimes even pro heroes felt a bit forced or even faked. He endured it though, as it still seemed innocent, as he never saw his girlfriend ever display this interest.

Before he they knew it, Tooru's mother entered the room once again and said that dinner was ready. The women had changed into a white buttoned-up collared shirt with blue jeans.

As Izuku sat down at the large wooden dining table next to his girlfriend, he saw her father enter the kitchen. He was cleanly shaven now and was wearing a plain black t-shirt with white shorts. Mrs. Hagakure served pork chops with a side of mixed vegetables and some buttery biscuits. All the food tasted heavenly to Midoriya.

After some time passed, Tooru's mother said, "So Midoriya-san. You must tell me how you and my daughter met, cause she's been tight-lipped about the whole ordeal."

Baffled at this revelation, Izuku said, "She has?"

"Quite," the women said bluntly.

The statement got a groan from the younger Hagakure, but the boy felt it would be best to answer her question. Midoriya explained the day before the exam and how two interacted at their first lunch together. He felt that should be enough. The act of her daughter sneaking in to visit him in the nurse's office was a big no-no. As he explained it, both parents listened in intently to the story. Had Tooru honestly not told his folks how they met? It was so different than how he had told his mother about almost everything that involved Tooru, within reason. But then again his relationship seemed to vastly different than what his girlfriend's family had.

"Almost sounds like our girl had the hots for you quite early on," Mr. Hagakure said with a chuckle.

Tooru finally spoke up and said, "Dad, please."

"What? There's nothing wrong with a lady being thirsty for the man she wants to fall in love with," he argued before taking a bite into a biscuit.

"Oh, you," Tooru's mother said with a giggle. She then cleared her throat and stated, "But that's inappropriate phrasing around the kids, honey,"

Midoriya thought the woman would be more angry with her husband at the comment. Either way, he then explained his other two dates in sparse detail after Mrs. Hagakure asked about them. This time Tooru joined in sometimes during the conversation to better explain things.

As dinner came to a close, Tooru's father finally asked a question. "So, I know your quirk is strength based, Midoriya-san. I'm curious about your parent's quirks if you don't mind me asking."

Izuku froze. He had no problem explaining his mother's quirk, but his father's? It wasn't the quirk itself, it was just mentioning him felt awkward. He didn't want to bring questions about his dad so he answered with little details.

"My mom can attract small objects to her and my father can breathe fire."

Tooru leaned in at her boyfriend revealing this. He had never told her this but then again she had never asked.

"That's odd that your quirk has no relation to your parents. But then again, a child having a quirk totally unrelated to his parent's isn't unheard of, it's just extremely rare," the Mr. Hagakure stated. He continued by stating, "Guess you're just one of those examples Midoriya-san."

"Yep, that must be it," Izuku responded with a sigh of relief. He hoped Tooru wouldn't ask about this later, but it almost seemed certian she would.

Eventually, the meal was over, and as Tooru's mother started taking up the dishes, Izuku offered to help clean them. This confounded the women, and she said, within earshot of her daughter, "Well isn't that nice. Tooru never helps me with such work."

The younger Hagakure just grunted as she left the room.

Midoriya just sighed at this. Whatever was happening between the two was something he didn't want to butt into right now.

As they reached the halfway point in washing, the women finally spoke up and said, "Sorry if I come off as brash. I'm just a bit anxious my little girl is growing up and dating a boy I've heard so little about." She sighed before saying, "To tell you the truth, it's only because of my husband that I'm okay with this. He does have a way with words."

Izuku collected his thoughts before responding with, "It's okay, ma'am. Honestly, I'm still surprised that Tooru has spoken so little about me to you. It's been quite the opposite experience for me and my mom."

"That's good that you and your mother are that close. It's my fault that my daughter has been cold to me, as I worry about her too much, especially since she started going to that hero academy. Thank the heavens for her quirk though. If she ever get's in a bad pickle she can use those good legs of her's to run away safely from almost any situation cause of her transparency," the older Hagakure explained in a worried tone.

The conversation got Midoriya intrigued, and he asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what's your quirk ma'am?"

"I'm unfortunately quirkless," the women stated with a sad sigh.

Izuku was tempted to tell Tooru's mother that he too had been quirkless for most of his life but felt that would have sparked more questions than he would be willing to answer and instead said, "Sorry, I didn't know."

The women handed Izuku a pot to dry as she said, "It's okay Midoriya-san. It's becoming a rare trait these days, so you're not wrong to assume otherwise."

The two finished the rest of the dishes in silence. Once done, Mrs. Hagakure turned to her daughter's boyfriend and hugged him suddenly. It had caught him off guard, just as Tooru's embraces usually did.

"Thank you for being there for my daughter. Please keep her safe and happy, cause she means the world to me," she said while attempting to hold back tears.

The last few minutes really changed Midoriya's view of his girlfriend's mother. She was actually quite similar to his own mother, she just displayed her love to her child in a different way.

Understand that she truly cared for the well being of Tooru he slowly put his arms around his girlfriend's mother and said, "I plan to ma'am, I can promise you that with my life."

* * *

 **Well, to start off I want to discuss something that's been simmering in the background for a while. As a writer, I feel like I am lacking. I think I come up with good ideas, it's just how I convey them is what's flawed, whether that be dialogue, grammar, or word choice. So I wanna up the quality of my fic for you readers and one way I felt I can do that is to have a beta-reader. After looking around and sending out some pm's to potential beta-readers, one did agree to help me early last Monday, and that is Night Foliage. We discussed to first work on chapters that are already posted before working on future work.**

 **Another important note I wanna make is the chapter release schedule is going to make a change. After the release of chapter sixteen, which will come out Christmas, chapter releases will become monthly, the first of the month to be exact (so chapter seventeen will release February 1st for example). This is for a couple reasons. Two weeks is doable, but it really cuts into my real life stuff (and this was a decision I made long before becoming sick last week). At first, I tolerated it because I was eager to write but that's starting to wane. So as to not burn myself out, I'm extending the time between chapters. Another reason is to give time for Night to catch up, even if that takes many months. Finally, it means I won't catch up to the manga as fast, which has been a concern of mine. I've previously stated that when I do catch up to the manga I would take a hiatus until the most current arc concludes before beginning to write again. To stave this off as much as possible (because hiatuses suck, *stares at Berserk*), more time between releases is required.**

 **Now on to the current chapter. First, the scenes before the visit to Tooru's house. I know the results of the Hero Festival have been well stated already but Izuku never discussed the aftermath of it with Eraserhead, even in the manga (we just get inner thoughts about it as he's in the announcer box). Plus this detention time gave an excuse to use him and All Might together(even if it was short), which hasn't happened yet in front of Midoriya yet this fic. Having Koji be a vegetarian made sense to me, as I sort of see him as being similar to Beast Boy from the DC universe. Of course, their personalities vastly differ but their views on animals are probably the same as becoming or talking to animals would definitely hinder your desire to eat them I feel. I felt the final study session could cover some of the** **aftermath** **of what happened in the last chapter. Plus it was fun to expand on an event that was literally just a single page in the manga. I originally had Yasumara give a tour of the estate to all the students but Mashirao and Momo to give them some alone time. Mashirao would then later tell Izuku about Momo's offer but I felt the tour was out of place for the last visit to her home and dragged out this section too much.**

 **The butler OC's make their exit after this chapter (even though I only just introduced the chef, but he's somewhat been in the background with his food), minus Yasumura. We'll be seeing him in some unexpected ways once we get to the dorms. But since we're talking about them I might as well reveal how I decided their names (cause I suck at making names on my own). All of them are from various Japanese voice actors that worked on the One Punch Man anime. The selection was not based on the character they voiced, I just went with what sounded the coolest to me. Makoto Yasumara is the VA for Spring Mustachio, the #28 A-class hero who uses a rapier when fighting. Aoi Yuki is the VA for Tatsumaki/Tornado Terror, the #2 S-class hot-headed hero with psychic powers. Takahiro Sakurai is the VA for Zombieman, the #8 S-class hero that can, almost, never die. Ari Ozama is the VA for Lily, the #74 B-class hero that is a member of the Blizzard Group. Only Yasumura has any resemblance to the character the VA voices. They both prefer to use a rapier in combat and have somewhat similar personalities (a gentleman but also a passionate fighter).**

 **So, the visit to Tooru's house. I didn't want to go for the overused "overprotective dad" trope when it came to her father, hence the personality I gave him. I hope you liked my take on his quirk as well. I was tempted to make Mrs. Hagakure have some unrelated quirk to Tooru that would be useful for taking care of small children (probably a mutant quirk, like having multiple arms or something) but that kind of fell to the wayside as it felt too drastic. Instead, I made her quirkless for a future plot point.**

 **In the next chapter, we will see an altered shopping scene from after the Final Exams, it's aftermath and some in-between scenes from the summer school trip. Chapter sixteen will then deal with both the aftermath of the Forest Battle and the Hideout arc. See ya again on December 11th!**


	15. In the Open

Chapter 15: In the Open

It was a hot summer Thursday afternoon in the busy part of a shopping district.

Izuku was making his way through the crowds of people getting ready for the summer break. The final exams were over, and he was ecstatic that Tooru and everyone else in his class had passed the written portion. However, Mina, Denki, Rikido, Eijiro, and Hanta had failed the practical part. But once again their homeroom teacher had played his class like a fiddle. Everyone was going to the summer school trip regardless of the results; he just wanted his students to push themselves beyond their limits. Of course, there still was a catch. Those that did fail were still going to have remedial lessons during the trip. Midoriya knew that for his five classmates would loathe the extra schooling, but at least they would still be going on the trip.

So why was Izuku out shopping?

Aizawa had given his students a packing list, a huge one. Hagakure suggested to the class to use their day off on Thursday to go shopping as a class to get everything. Almost everyone was up for the idea except for three students. Bakugo didn't want to go because well, he is Bakugo. Todoroki couldn't go cause normally he visited someone on Thursdays. And finally, there was Koda, which Midoriya later found out the large teen had told Ojiro he didn't like being in large crowds.

Izuku had left early, as he hoped to catch Tooru before the rest of the students came. Knowing her, she would want to be there first since it was her idea. And when he arrived at the meeting place he was happy to learn he was correct. Sitting on a stone bench was none other than Midoriya's girlfriend. She was wearing a white t-shirt with no sleeves that had dark blue stripes going horizontally and short jeans. Hagakure also had on white snap bracelets and looked to be happily swinging her feet judging from the up and down motions of her shoes.

"Morning Tooru," Izuku said cheerfully as he approached the invisible girl.

Tooru's body turned towards him and she said, "Hey there Izuku! You're here early."

"Same can be said for you," Midoriya said with a shrug.

Hagakure argued, "Well, I planned the event. I should be the first one here! So what's your excuse?"

"I just wanted to talk with you. And I guessed you'd be here early, so I came early too," the green haired boy explained with a soft smile.

Tooru tilted her body slightly before asking, "Why? We chatted for a long time on the phone on Tuesday. Is there something you forgot to mention?"

There was something.

Tuesday was the practical portion of the exam. After school, the two had a long phone conversation about how they did. It was the first time they had a voice conversation on the phone, everything up to that point had been through text between the two. It wasn't Izuku's first time on the phone with a girl, as Ochako had called him after his fight with Stain to ask if everything was alright. She found the boy's method to call for help by just pinging his location as odd, and after she found out what had happened, apologized that she understand it's meaning. Midoriya guessed that from there Uraraka contacted Ida to try and comfort him. Talking to her before had helped him feel more comfortable talking to his girlfriend this time over the phone.

Either way, while the two talked about the exams there was something else that he wanted to discuss. After dinner with Tooru's parents on Sunday, she seemed off during his departure. She didn't seem like her cheery usual self. Hagakure also only hugged him as he left. Lately, she had been sneaking him kisses as they parted. Was it wrong to assume for him to recieve a kiss? He wouldn't have questioned it if it was such a short hug. But during their chat on the phone everything seemed normal, and because of this Midoriya just put the thought in the back of his mind. But now that enough time had passed and that he had another opportunity to speak to her face to face, he felt compelled to ask about it.

"It's less about forgetting to mention something and more I was scared to ask," Midoriya said slowly. He had an idea what was wrong and was being hesitant because he felt it was his fault.

Hagakure shifted as she asked, "Is everything okay Izuku?"

Izuku looked down at his feet as he said, "I'm not sure. You aren't mad at me because of telling your parents what happened during our dates, are you?"

"Oh. That," Tooru replied before giving a long sigh. She remained quiet for a few seconds before she continued with, "It was kind of embarrassing. I hadn't told much to them because I know my dad would tease me about it and my mom would ask too many questions if I said everything in detail. But I'm not mad at you specifically; I was just frustrated a bit I guess. How could you tell?"

Midoriya tapped his chin as he explained, "Well you just seemed a bit down just before I left. And I didn't expect such a short hug from you. It just felt off to me."

Hagakure responded in a teasing voice as she asked, "Oh, were you expecting a nice kiss on the cheek from your lovely girlfriend? Does Izuku feel our farewells need to be more intimate from now on?"

Izuku turned a shade of crimson at this and groaned slightly. He felt her hand grasp his shoulder as Tooru got up to say, "It's okay to be selfish sometimes with me Izuku. If you wanted a kiss you just had to ask."

Midoriya slowly nodded as he said, "Okay, T-Tooru." That wasn't exactly what he had hoped for from discussing this but he couldn't argue that he somewhat liked her forwardness about it. His girlfriend shouldn't always be the one pushing the boundaries of their relationship, the boy hated to admit.

Hagakure stood up and then stated, "In the end, I think it was best that you told them. I think, your explanation won over my mom, cause she isn't asking a million questions about you anymore as she did before. Though my dad always seemed to be okay with you, which I really don't get why. Though as lazy as he is he might just not care enough to bother protesting our relationship."

Upon hearing this, Izuku remembered back to their dinner with his mom the weekend after they became a couple. How Tooru was surprised to learn that Inko had been very knowledgeable about their interactions when she tried to tease what they had done together. It did make sense now, as she had told so little to her parents. Midoriya was glad that Mr. Hagakure was so accepting of him. Otherwise, she might have never gotten permission to come over to his place as often as she did if it was instead up to just her mother. And going by what happened when he helped Mrs. Hagakure with the dishes, even she was okay with them dating now.

"That's good to hear," Izuku said as he brought his head back up.

"Well, it's almost time for everyone to show up. We probably shouldn't be seen here together if we wanna keep us a secret," Tooru explained as she looked at her phone she pulled out from her pocket.

Midoriya replied, "You're right." He thought a moment before continuing with, "I'll just go and find a bathroom nearby. Hopefully by the time I come back someone else from class will show up. If not, I'll keep my distance until someone does."

Hagakure then got up and gave her boyfriend a quick peck on his forehead. She then said, "Good idea. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun today even if we can't be together. See you in a bit."

Izuku was glad it a short kiss from his girlfriend. It probably didn't look as such to all the passing crowd. Otherwise, he might have fainted from embarrassment. As Midoriya wobbled his way to find a bathroom he could hear her giggling at catching him off his guard once again.

* * *

Midoriya walked out of the temporary investigation headquarters with Detective Tsukauchi just behind him. It had been a long day but what he saw in front of him as he left the building brought a smile to his face.

"You sure do find yourself in trouble with villains often, Midoriya my boy," All Might said as he appeared out of the darkness of the night.

Izuku gave an awkward chuckle at the statement; he did seem to have bad luck in this regard.

The pro hero was in his true form and walked up to pat his student's head as he said, "Well I'm glad to see you are safe. Sorry I wasn't there to save you, my boy." He then looked over at his detective friend and said, "I hope he was helpful with your investigation."

Tsukauchi replied with, "Midoriya-san's testimony does paint the picture that the League of Villians isn't exactly unified. Hopefully, we can find their headquarters soon so we can maybe take advantage of this opportunity."

As the adults chatted, Izuku's thought back to the events that occurred today. His plan worked, Fumikage and Kyoka were there talking to Tooru when he was done using the bathroom. Eventually, all the students that had agreed to show up had arrived and after some discussion split into separate groups based on what they needed to buy. Somehow Midoriya and Hagakure found themselves alone again. She laughed at their situation but said it would be best if they just caught up with separate groups.

About a minute after Tooru left, Izuku was approached by none other than Tomura Shigaraki. He had been told in detail of who he was by All Might at one of his earlier meetings with the pro hero. The man was wearing his all-black attire that the boy remembered from the last time they met but with a hoodie. The villain was able to get close to the hero on training by faking that he wanted an autograph because of seeing him during the Hero Festival. Before Midoriya knew it, he had a palm over his neck and was at the mercy of Shigaraki. The crazed leader kept his middle finger from touching the boy's neck, so as not to activate his disintegration quirk. He then threatened to kill Izuku and as many innocent bystanders as he could if the boy denied having a chat with him.

After agreeing to his demands the two sat down on a bench. Tomura then spoke of being irritated by the aftermath of Stain's rampage. The villain invasion of the U.A. and the releasing of the Nomu in Hosu that he did, paled in comparison to what the Hero Killer was able to accomplish in the sense of causing a movement amongst the people of Japan.

It surprised Midoriya that the two weren't truly working together but then again they probably only tolerated each other cause of somewhat similar goals.

Shigaraki then asked his captive what made him so different from Stain.

It took the boy a few moments, but Izuku answered that while he didn't accept what either had done, he could at least understand why the Hero Killer did what he did. Stain wanted a better society, one that wasn't policed by fake heroes that worked for the betterment of themselves than of the people they were supposed to serve. Midoriya knew that while most heroes did not act this way, he couldn't deny that the current system was flawed and did promote some pro heroes to act this way. The Hero Killer, however, saw a beacon in the current hero industry and it was All Might, the ideal true hero. It was something that the boy could agree with.

This revelation made Tomura finally realize it was All Might that was the source of his current troubles. Both Izuku and Stain were products of the number one hero, and his conviction to kill the pro hero was rejuvenated because of this thought.

Midoriya thanked the stars that Hagakure showed up at this point wondering what was going on. Shigaraki surprisingly let his captive go and apologized for not knowing that he had company. As Tooru went to help Izuku up, as he had fallen gasping for air after being let go, the villain started to make his way into the crowd. The successor to One for All asked what All for One wanted before Tomura could leave. The villain stated that he didn't care what his master wanted and instead threatened Midoriya with death the next time the two met.

Hagakure was quick to call the police about what happened. From there, despite a closing of the mall and a search by local pro heroes as well as the police, the supposed head of the League of Villians was never found. Izuku and Tooru were brought into questioning by the police, and by the time all this was over for the boy, it was nighttime.

All Might placing his hand on Midroiya's shoulder brought the boy back to the present. The pro hero then said, "That does sound like useful information, I'm glad Midoriya-san was of some help in your investigation." He then let go his pupil's shoulder and walked forward a bit to sit down on the stone steps that lead to the building. Toshinori motioned for his successor to join him and the boy plopped down beside him. As Izuku took off his backpack, his mentor asked, "Mind giving my student and me some time alone, Tsukauchi-san?"

The detective gave a nod and made his way back inside.

Confused at this, Izuku asked, "Why did you ask him to leave?"

"Because I doubt he'll be interested in what I want to discuss with you," the skeleton of a man said as he itched the bottom of his chin.

With a concerned look, Midoriya asked another question, "And what do you want to talk about?"

All Might turned his head to his student as he replied, "I just wanted an update on you and Hagakure-san if you don't mind."

This question both confused and comforted Midoriya. He was happy that his idol was interested in his well being outside his hero work, but the timing of the inquiry felt off. Izuku then hesitantly said, "Is this really the time and place to ask this?"

The number one hero pulled out a red phone from his pocket and pointed at it as he explained, "I called Tsukauchi-san and asked him to call me when he was done talking to you so I could personally speak to you. During our chat, he mentioned your girlfriend had taken what happened to you this morning pretty hard. Today was quite traumatic for both of you to experience. She is a big part of your life now, so it's best that things are well between you two. I might not be able to offer the best advice about the bond you two have, but I still would find it insightful to know if everything is or isn't okay in your relationship with her. If that's okay with you of course."

The man's logic made sense to Midoriya. If the two were having a troubled relationship, then it would probably affect his hero-in-training duties. Plus Tooru did have a bit of an episode once the two had been separated from the other students by the police. She felt that if she hadn't come back then he might not be alive right now. The whole ordeal was terrifying for the boy, and it really hit once his girlfriend showed up. Perhaps once the adrenaline wore off, his brain finally caught up to how close he was to dying.

The two had embraced for a while, as Izuku tried to calm her down in the police station. They needed to be interviewed for their accounts of what happened, but separately. Eventually, Hagakure became placid enough to go ahead with it. She went first, and after about half an hour she walked seemingly more cheerful than before. She gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek and said she was feeling better now. Her father showed up not long after that to pick up his daughter. Midoriya, however, stayed for hours as he gave his account to various police and eventually Tsukauchi himself, who took him to a different building before talking with him. He kept quiet about his All for One question to Shigaraki until the detective showed up, which the man appreciated from the boy.

"It's alright, I understand. However, everything is fine, really. Tooru was just really shocked by what happened. I mean she thought I could have died. But after Tooru talked to the police she seemed better," Izuku responded back to All Might.

The pro hero put away his phone as he stated, "That's good. Though make sure to check on Hagakure-san once you get home. I suggest you call her to reassure her you are okay."

Midoriya replied, "That's a good idea. Thanks, sir!"

"Glad to help," the skeleton of a man said while giving a thumbs up. He then crossed his arms as he continued by saying, "Has anything else happened between you two since you told me about becoming a couple with her?"

Izuku then explained the time he invited Tooru to exercise together and the dinner they had with his mom. Toshinori liked the idea of the two working out together and suggested he continue the activity when they could. The boy also briefly mentioned his visit to his girlfriend's home just days before. All Might found Hagakure's father as quite odd but liked his explanation of why he was okay with Midoriya dating his daughter. While the discussion was brief, the boy felt a lot better afterward. Was this another reason why his mentor wanted them to discuss this? To lift his spirits after what happened? Either way, it had worked.

With this boost in his mood, Izuku felt more confident to ask, "Um, is it okay to ask how I did during the practical portion of the final exam with you?" The pro hero had been his obstacle for the exam, after all. And while he had passed, he felt it was by the skin of his teeth. Midoriya just wanted to hear from his mentor how he did.

"Well, first of all, I hope you were able to figure out the point of the final exam for you and your classmates," All Might said while holding up an index finger from his right hand.

Izuku did, especially after staying behind to watch the monitors that were displaying his other classmates that were still participating in their exam. He had asked Recovery Girl if he could watch the results with her after being healed. She agreed and the two spent time together going over what they observed. Midoriya soon learned that the pair-ups were predetermined for a reason as he watched. Tokoyami was pit against Ectoplasm as he could easily exploit the student's close combat weakness of his quirk. Asui was paired with the Dark Shadow user to able to support his weakness. Principal Nezu was Ashido and Kaminari's opponent as the two had the lowest grades in class and their obstacle was to test their intelligence against the crafty rodent. Koda and Jiro had sound based quirks, which were countered entirely by Present Mic's thunderous voice. He could go on and on with examples.

Izuku then answered with, "The exams were to see if we could overcome situations that focused on our faults."

"Precisely, and your fault, of course, is your relationship with Bakugo-san. You two really are the worst team when together," the skeleton of a man said while shaking his head.

They were, Midoriya thought. His partner was none other than Katsuki, and they were like oil and water at the start of the exam. Their objective, as the same with all the other participants, was either to escape the arena or attack their assigned pro hero and cuff them within the time limit. Even when wearing specialized gauntlets that were designed to half All Might's speed and power, Izuku knew it was a futile effort to face him directly and tried to flee. But with Katsuki, that drive of his need to be number one meant he only wanted to attack his idol. Only after being almost knocked unconscious and being saved plus getting a pep talk by Midoriya did Bakugo finally reluctantly agree to work together with his partner.

The number one hero continued by stating, "But I saw decent growth between you two that day. Sure you two barely managed to make it through the exit gate in time but you passed, and that's all that matters to me."

The words raised the boy's spirits even more. But he was curious about one more thing and asked, "Were you the one that chose Kacchan as my partner for the exam?"

The pro hero shrugged before saying, "No. Your homeroom teacher made all the decisions regarding that, but I would have done the same thing if I had the choice."

Both of them then heard Tsukauchi's voice from behind them, "Midoriya-san your ride should be here shortly."

At this, All Might stood up and brushed off pants before saying, "Well is there anything else you wanna say before we part ways, my boy?"

Izuku thought back to earlier when All Might first greeted him today.

Sorry I wasn't there to save you, my boy.

Of course, the pro hero couldn't have saved him; he wasn't there. But it made Midoriya think of how Shigaraki hated how the populace could be so happy, thinking that All Might could save anyone or everyone. Izuku then asked, "All Might, was there ever a time you really couldn't save someone?"

* * *

That question.

Even two days later the answer All Might had given to that question was still swimming in the teen's head. However, he had other issues affecting him at the moment.

Izuku was currently physically exhausted but sleeping.

It was late Saturday night, and he was in a cabin deep in the woods for their summer school trip. Because of Midoriya's run-in with Shigaraki on Thursday, it was decided to move to a different location to ensure the safety of the students as the school administration felt they would be targeted. Izuku and his classmates had spent a better part of the day fighting dirt creatures made by Pixie Bob and her quirk Earth Flow. She was a pro hero from a four-person hero team known as the Wild, Wild Pussy Cats. They had agreed to help train the students for the trip despite such the short notice. After a massive meal and some time at the hot springs, everyone went to bed to rest for their true training regiment that would begin tomorrow.

As Izuku dreamed, some of the words of All Might's answer to his question kept fading in and out.

Sure. Plenty of times...

...That's why I stand and smile. I'm the symbol of justice. For the citizens, the heroes, and the villains I need to light the way for all of them.

This statement resounded inside the successor of One for All. Various instances flashed in and out of his head; Ochako during the entrance exam, All Might during the villain invasion, Shoto at the Hero Festival, and Tenya during his encounter with Stain. In each of these, he was able to rescue them. The thought of not being able to save them was almost making nightmares of such possibilities creep into his mind. But Midoriya was adamant about not letting such dreams occur and instead kept his thoughts going back to All Might. Was there anyone that the number hero couldn't save while on the field? Anyone close? Were their deaths still affecting him today?

Izuku's dreams came to an abrupt end as he felt something poking his face. He stirred a bit, and it stopped. But within moments it happened again. With a grunt, he opened his eyes and looked around. It was mostly pitch black minus some light coming from the window from outside lights. As Midoriya sat up and his vision became clear the realization of what was going on made him freeze. It felt somewhat nostalgic, but it wasn't a feeling he wished he was currently having. In the tiniest of whispers, Izuku said, "Tooru, please tell me you aren't here right now."

A few seconds pass, and there was no answer.

Midoriya sighed in relief but then he heard, "Sorry I am."

The boy's heart leapt up to his throat, but he kept his composure as not to wake the other guys sleeping in the room. He struggled to speak but eventually stated in a soft voice, "W-We can't t-talk here T-Tooru."

"I know, I wanna chat elsewhere. I'll meet you outside," Hagakure replied in a hushed tone.

Izuku slowly got out of his bed and tried to arrange his blanket as if it looked like he was still in his bed. He then began to make his leave, making sure to be as quiet as possible as he stepped over and between his male classmates.

During his sneaking, the boy recalled what had happened the last few days, as it could explain why this was currently happening. After coming home from talking with All Might and Detective Tsukauchi, Midoriya called his girlfriend just as his mentor suggested. But she didn't answer. On Friday, Tooru told him she went to bed early as the reason why she missed his call. The two didn't get the chance to talk much since it was a short day at school due it consisting of only one short class and the closing ceremony afterward. Again Izuku tried to call her that night but got no response, even a private message via a text yielded nothing. On the bus ride earlier that day, he sat with Tenya, but the chatter on the vehicle was too obnoxiously loud to hold a serious conversation even if he did want to sit next to Tooru.

It started to worry Midoriya, but he figured he would have plenty of time to talk to her once they got to their destination. But their first day in the beast forest didn't provide any chances to chat. The bus ride was stopped short and they were forced to trek the rest of the way so the Pussy Cats could evaluate the abilities of the students with Pixie Bob's earth beasts and the journey to their cabins had taken a majority of the day. During dinner, everyone was too busy stuffing their faces with food. And finally, trying and speaking with Hagakure during their visit to the hot springs just wasn't gonna happen.

Izuku arrived at the exit and slowly opened the door. He stepped out and waited until he felt a tug on his shirt to close it. With his thoughts from before still fresh in his mind, and having calmed down somewhat, the boy asked softly, "So, are you here because we haven't been able to be alone for some time?"

Tooru said in a quiet tone, "Uh-huh."

Midoriya tapped some fingers on his temple as he asked, "Then why did you not answer my call or even text yesterday? Remember, we exchanged numbers in the first place to prevent things like this happening again."

"I'm sorry Izuku, but I just felt what I needed to say, should be to your face, not over the phone. If I had answered your call or text it would have been impossible not to bring it up, which just wouldn't have felt right to do," Hagakure answered in a sad voice.

As curious as Midoriya was to what was troubling his girlfriend, this was hardly the place to have a long conversation about it. He then stated, "Alright, then. I'm sure you have a place in mind for us to chat. So lead the way Tooru."

"Will do," the invisible girl replied in a bit more of a merry tone.

Izuku then felt her hand grasp his left hand and pull him forward. The two walked past a few hallways until they were almost behind the complex. As the two rounded the last corner, Izuku ran into something and nearly toppled over backward. It immediately came apparent that he had bumped into Tooru's nude backside and almost said something in response. But what stopped him was what he saw in front of him.

A giant shadow creature was flexing its muscles in the what little light the waning crescent moon was giving. Below it sat Fumikage reading a small booklet. He was sitting in the middle of a small courtyard that was behind the lodgings. The half-bird-half-human hadn't noticed their presence yet, but his quirk, Dark Shadow, did almost immediately. Izuku didn't recognize the quirk at first as he was so used to seeing it much smaller and less intimidating.

"Looks like I have potential opponents tonight," said the dark apparition in a deep voice. It sounded so different from the cute, playful tone that Midoriya was used to hearing from the quirk.

The statement from his partner got Tokoyami's attention, and he rapidly closed his book. As he stood up and put it in his pocket, and then asked, "What are you doing here Midoriya-san?"

Izuku guessed that his dark and brooding classmate was merely refining his quirk. It was the strongest in low light, which meant it had to be during the night. Most of their training was during the daylight, so it made sense why Fumikage was out here. But whatever reason Fumikage was out here, he needed to answer him.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to i-interrupt your training T-Tokoyami-san. I was just t-trying to find the b-bathroom," Midoriya tried to argue.

In a low growl, Dark Shadow stated, "You lie. I sense another in the darkness with you."

Izuku panicked and thought, wait he can sense Tooru? Perhaps the quirk gained the ability of heightened sense in the dark of the night? But what about her would give her presence away?

In a confused tone, Fumikage said, "There's someone else here? Who could-." He stopped abruptly once he noticed Midoriya's hand somewhat extended forwards. After a few seconds Tokoyami slowly said, "Oh."

After slamming his a fist into its open palm, the shadow crow stated, "Regardless who it is, it just means it's another person I get to fight!"

Izuku began pulling Tooru back towards him. He did it gently at first, so not to pull her into his arms, and embarrass the both of them to oblivion, but she did begin to step back with him he felt.

"Look I promise I'll let you slash up some dead trees in a bit, but you can't attack them Dark Shadow. They're my classmates," Fumikage said while clasping his head with one hand.

The shadowy apparition groaned and said, "Fine, but they better be some big trees." With that, the quirk dissipated and returned to its owner within a few seconds.

Tokoyami rubbed his temple as he began to breathe heavily. He then approached Midoriya and said, "Sorry about that, still have a lot to work on with my quirk while in the darkness. It's hard to calm him down once he gets going." He then looked at where Tooru was standing and stated, "Evening Hagakure-san."

"H-Hi there," Hagakure said in a shaky voice. She then cleared her throat and asked, "How'd Dark Shadow figure out I was here?"

Fumikage rested his back against the building and crossed his arms before answering with, "Everything about my quirk strengthens in the absence of light, including his senses. He probably picked up the scent of whatever shampoo or body wash you used when bathing in the hot springs today." He then looked back at Midoriya and asked, "So, what's the real reason you two are out here?"

Izuku breathed in and out heavily before answering with, "Hagakure-san woke me and told me she needed to discuss something important with me. She wanted to talk in a more private setting though and while she led me there we ran into you." He didn't think lying would help him at all at this point.

Fumikage stayed quiet for a few moments before saying, "Well you two are good friends so I won't get in the way of that. Though sneaking into the guy's room at night," he then coughed before continuing, "in the nude, must mean it's pretty important. I must say I'm a bit impressed you went along with it Midoriya-san."

Midoriya gave an awkward chuckle and then said, "Y-Yeah still trying to p-process this." He then tried to change the subject and asked, "So Tokoyami-san, what was that you were reading?"

Fumikage scratched his beak as he replied, "It's a book full of poetry I've accumulated over time. If I have dark thoughts, it strengthens Dark Shadow. It's not as much as being in the darkness does, but it's still noticeable. While experimenting, I found out reading dark poetry helps me calm my quirk. So I try and memorize as much as I can so maybe I can use it in the field if it's nighttime."

Curious, Tooru asked, "What do you mean by dark poetry?"

The question seemed to bother Tokoyami, but he eventually answered with, "This is embarrassing to admit, but I was in the middle of reading The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe when you arrived."

The irony was quite funny to the two. Midoriya understood, however, that this was not the time or place to laugh, but Hagakure couldn't help but giggle. Her soft laughter got the poetry reader to sink his head into his shoulders. Again trying to change the subject, but this time as not to anger Fumikage further, Izuku stated, "You seem to be taking me together with Hagakure-san well. You're not going to mention this to anybody are you?"

Tokoyami explained, "I'm not. Consider this as thanks for inviting me to your group during the second event of the Hero Festival. If I hadn't grouped with you and your team, then I might have never made it to the tournament event and got third place overall. And besides, knowing you Midoriya-san, I doubt whatever you two are planning on doing will be anything questionable. That's just not the kind of guy you are."

This statement surprised Izuku, but before he could thank him, Fumikage stopped leaning on the building and said, "Though I would appreciate you keep my training a secret. I wouldn't want our other classmates knowing I am into dark themes, like the poetry. It was embarrassing enough just telling you." Tokoyami then proceeded to pass by the two and said, "Don't stay out too late."

After Fumikage turned the corner of the building, Tooru said, "That went well."

"Almost too well," Midoriya stated. He was glad that Tokoyami was thankful for his invite during the cavalry battle, but it still felt off that Fumikage would be okay with him walking around with a female student, a naked one at that, at night. Perhaps there was more to this? Or was he overthinking the situation again?

"Well regardless, we're in the clear, so let's go," Tooru said as she pulled her boyfriend to move forward. She led him beyond the courtyard towards a shed that was hidden by a few trees. Behind the shed which had a bench overlooking a decent sized pond lined with small boulders.

Hagakure then spoke up and said, "I looked around for a place where we could talk in private before coming to the boy's room, and I felt this would work." She tried to pull Midoriya over to sit on the bench, but he resisted and stood still. The invisible teen asked in a confused tone, "Is everything okay Izuku?"

Izuku wanted to chat; he wanted to know more than anything what was bothering his girlfriend enough to ignore his phone calls. But there was the problem that she was still nude. Taking Tooru's hand while she was in such a state and being dragged around was already pushing his limits. The boy's resolve to learn what was troubling Hagakure was outweighing his shyness of that situation. But now she wanted to have them sit next to one another on a bench? Sure Midoriya was able to somewhat tolerate her nudeness in the nurse's office which felt like forever ago cause of the distance between the two. But sitting down and trying to talk about a potentially heavy subject to a nude, albeit invisible, girl right next to him?

The boy's brain was just frying at the thought. And an impulse solution came to mind because of his panicked state. Izuku let go of Tooru's hand and took off his shirt. He then held his shirt forward while looking away and closing his eyes before stating, "W-Would you p-please put this o-on? I-I'll be d-distracted if you're not c-clothed Tooru." As embarrassing as his upper body bare in front of her was, it still wasn't anything to the concept of sitting next to his nude girlfriend.

"Is that all? Okay then, that's an easy fix," the invisible girl replied as Midoriya felt her tug away his shirt. After a few seconds, he heard Hagakure say, "All good. Now come and join me Izuku."

The boy opened his eyes slowly to see his plain white T-shirt sitting on the bench. It was a bit big for her, so it hid her curves well and went below her hips, to Izuku's relief. He then made his way over and sat down to the left of her.

"I understand this seems a bit drastic for me to drag you out here but I just really wanted to talk about this with you face to face," Tooru said in an uneasy tone.

Midoriya asked, "Before you start, did you really go to sleep early on Thursday and miss my call?"

Hagakure responded with, "I did, sleeping just seemed like the easiest solution to forget worrying about you at the time. But I probably wouldn't have answered you anyway if I had stayed up long enough to get your call. I just felt so uncomfortable about what I wanted to say."

Izuku asked slowly, "So what is it?"

Tooru hesitated for a few moments but then explained, "I should have just stayed with you that morning, Izuku. I mean that's why I came back to find you, cause I wanted to be with you no matter what the others think of us. I want everyone to know that I love you and how great you are. But I realize that having everyone else learning about us being a couple might be too much for you right now. And I don't want a repeat of what happened in the rain that one day. Seeing you like that really tore me up inside, even if I seemed like I was playing it cool the whole time. So I've been wrestling with myself these last few weeks on if we should be upfront with our class about us or continue the way things are longer. In the end, I feel I'm the one who's being selfish here."

Izuku crossed his arms and sighed. So this is what's been eating her, he thought. Midoriya was glad that she was not blaming herself for arranging the shopping trip as the reason why he had encountered the villain. But this was a troublesome predicament. He knew that their relationship couldn't remain a secret forever.

When Izuku thought about it, already a decent portion of the class knew about it. There were all their friends in their group. Koji had also found out even before he told his good friends. Fumikage might suspect them as well now. He couldn't deny that it would be quite stressful to both announce being with Tooru and the aftermath that would occur. But it was going to happen, perhaps sooner rather than later would be for the best. However, now wasn't the best time to do this. The next week was going to be hell, Midoriya guessed. Having to juggle whatever their training was going to be on top of having to deal with the fallout of saying he had a girlfriend to his class just didn't seem feasible for him to be able to manage.

"You okay Izuku? You are being oddly silent for once," Tooru asked in a worried voice.

Izuku replied, "Sorry, I've just been thinking about what you said. I'm not entirely against the idea of our class knowing about us. But I don't think right now is the right time. We're all going to be busy with whatever Aizawa-sensei has planned for us, and I don't think revealing our relationship this week would be the best idea."

Hagakure groaned before stating, "You're right. Sorry for being pushy about this."

Izuku reached over and put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder and asked, "Why don't we reveal that we are in a relationship the first day we come back to school after the summer break?"

Cheerfully, Tooru asked, "You mean it?"

Midoriya made a fist with his free hand as he replied, "Of course I do! I think that will be enough time for me to get over being stressed about the whole thing." He also thought the two could get closer during this time. Izuku's birthday was next week, and she also wanted to go to the beach with him at some point over the break. Doing such things were bound to boost his confidence, right?

Tooru leaned in towards the boy, but he quickly scooted back with his hands up defensively and said, "T-Tooru you shouldn't h-hug me right n-now."

"Awww, but it felt like the kind of moment where we should," the invisible girl whined.

She was in nothing but a white t-shirt and Izuku was shirtless. Them embracing right now would have been too much since very little would be between them, Izuku thought.

Hagakure then said suggestively, "How could you deny a hug from your girlfriend after showing off such a body to her, you tease. I got a decent preview when Ojiro-san sent that picture of you boys during the sleepover, but the real thing is so much more, dazzling."

Midoriya blushed furiously from her statement, which got a laugh from his girlfriend. After she calmed down, she said, "Anyway, I can't wait to tell everyone that day Izuku!"

"Y-Yeah, me t-too," Izuku said nervously. She can really be a handful sometimes, he thought. Trying to change the subject away from himself being shirtless, he asked, "So how was today for you? I'm pretty beat myself."

Tooru groaned before saying, "I felt useless. I mean what was I supposed to do against those things?"

Midoriya thought, well she wasn't wrong. Hagakure wasn't able to do anything but dodge and flee the dirt beasts made by Pixie-Bob from what he could observe. But in an attempt to cheer her up he said, "Well your quirk just isn't fit for a combat situation like this was. It might have been different if you had your suit with you. I'm sure if you had it you could have been more helpful."

Tooru sighed as she responded, "Yeah I wasn't exactly willing to shed my clothes to be completely invisible. I don't think running through a forest for hours upon hours in the nude would have been fun. At least if I had my hero costume, I could have gone up ahead and avoided those dirt monsters to find a quick path to the lodgings and bring that info back to all of you." Her tone changed almost immediately as she stated, "But man was that delicious dinner and the refreshing hot spring worth all those hours of hardships we endured."

"Wish I could have enjoyed the hot springs longer," Izuku said in disappointment.

Curiously, Hagakure asked, "What? Did that perverted purple blob cut short the boy's bath time?"

Midoriya recalled being in hot springs just hours before. Mineta yet again was up to his perverse ways and used his quirk to climb the wall that separated the hot springs by gender. He would have made it to the other side if it wasn't for Kota, a young boy who was Mandalay's nephew. Izuku found out later that Eraserhead had warned the Pussycats of Minoru's behavior and the young kid was told to guard the barrier between the genders.

Midoriya then shook his head before explaining, "No, it wasn't that. Well not exactly. That boy who pushed Mineta-san off the wall ended up falling off himself. I caught him but he was out cold, so I brought him inside to Mandalay. I talked for a while with her and Pixie-bob after that. By the time I left it was time for bed for all of us."

"Oh. That explains how he vanished. We girls just thought the kid climbed back down quickly cause he saw all of us naked. From our angle, it was kind of hard to see what he was doing. Ashido-san yelled out thanks to the boy, and he looked over to us before vanishing," Tooru explained.

That explains Kota's nosebleed, Midoriya thought. He then asked, "The girls were okay with him seeing you all naked?"

"Izuku, the kid, looks like five years old, it's not a problem," Hagakure said bluntly.

Izuku guessed it was okay then, but still found it weird that the girls didn't care, he felt he would have been out for days if he saw such a thing as a little kid. His girlfriend then spoke up, which interrupted his thoughts on the matter, and said, "It was pretty funny though when he nailed you in the junk when he got here."

Midoriya cringed at the memory of what happened earlier in the day. When he tried to greet the boy, Kota punched him below the belt. It wasn't until he talked to the Pussycats after bringing the boy to them, did Izuku learn why. Mandalay revealed that her cousins were the boy's parents, and they were both pro-heroes who died protecting civilians from a villain. Midoriya recalled hearing in the news about a hero called Water Hose and his partner that suffered such a fate. Were those heroes the parents' of Kota? Since he was so young, to try and understand such a terrible event, somehow he felt his parents profession in heroics lead him to be alone. And to see such an act get praised by other pro heroes made him grow a disgust for them. Mandalay felt that Kota only tolerated the Pussycats cause he had no one else to look after him.

Izuku shook his head back to the world outside his head and then replied, "That really hurt Tooru, I don't see how you can see that as hilarious."

Tooru argued, "Izuku look at your muscles, there's no way a little kid like him could hurt someone as strong as you."

"Then you just don't understand what it means to be a guy," Midoriya said while rubbing the temple of his forehead with his left hand.

Hagakure shrugged as she stated, "Guess not."

Izuku could only sigh but then asked, "So anything happen with you girls or did you go to sleep as fast as us guys did?"

The sleeves of his shirt rose as Tooru responded with, "Actually we had some visitors from class B!"

Midoriya gave a puzzled look as he asked, "Wait, what? Who?"

"Just some of the girls. Kendo-san, Shiozaki-san, and Kodai-san if I remember right. They brought us some snacks and Ashido-san was quick to invite them in. Then we just talked for a while," Hagakure explained.

Izuku then asked, "Did you girls talk about anything in particular?"

His girlfriend gave an awkward chuckle before replying with, "I know it sounds cliche but it was about boys."

"O-Oh, sorry I asked then," Izuku stated with a slight blush.

"It's fine, really. It was really pathetic anyways," Tooru argued. Her boyfriend had a look of confusion on his face from this comment. This spurred Hagakure to correct herself by explaining, "I meant the conversation, not you boys. Ashido-san started it by asking if there was anyone amongst us girls that would date any of the guys in our class. She was quick to throw the question to me and Uraraka-chan. We both assured her and everyone else that we only saw you and Ida-san, respectively, as good friends." She cleared her throat and continued by saying, "We might have had to lie about you two a bit to throw her off of us."

Midoriya sighed as he stated, "It's fine Tooru. I'm sure whatever you said was to keep up the illusion that we're not a couple. I am curious what you and Uraraka-chan said though."

The boy saw the shoulders of his T-shirt sink as the invisible teen said, "Well I said dating you would be boring. Because since you are obsessed with All Might, you'd just wanna have dates that involved doing nerd stuff about him."

Izuku chuckled as he stated, "I mean you're not wrong. Who knows what I would have chosen to do during our date if Ida-kun hadn't given me the advice he did."

Tooru responded with, "Perhaps. Uraraka-chan stated that dating Ida-san would also be a drag because it would probably just be study sessions. None of the other girls said anything else though. Which was the pathetic part of it all. Though it looked like to me Yaoyorozu-chan wanted to say something. I have no clue who she would be interested in though, do you?"

Midoriya knew exactly who the class vice president was possibly thinking about. But he lied when he said, "Maybe she wanted to defend you and Uraraka-chan's assertion that you two weren't interested in dating me and Ida-kun. But Yaoyorozu-san held back perhaps because it would come off as being too defensive about it would look more incriminating?"

Hagakure gave a grunt of approval before stating, "You know Izuku, you might be right. I hadn't thought about it that way."

Izuku then rubbed his eyes and said, "It's getting late Tooru, we should probably head back to bed before anyone else notices we aren't in there."

"You two are too late for that I'm afraid," said a deep menacing voice to their left.

Both teens stood up rapidly, and Midoriya held out his right hand for his girlfriend to grab, which she did. A tall and well-built figure then made his way slowly around the corner.

Once he made his way into the moonlight, Izuku gasped, "You're the pro hero Tiger!"

The man was wearing pajamas and was missing his signature cat helmet that the boy was used to seeing him have. Tiger's nightwear had a white background but had small cute looking tigers scattered throughout his clothing. He also had on a reddish-orange nightcap and a pair of white sandals. Seeing a well-built hero in such clothing seemed a bit ridiculous to the two teens.

A baffled Tooru asked, "Who?"

"He's another member of the Wild, Wild Pussycats! They're a four-member hero team. We only met two of them today," Midoriya explained excitedly.

Tiger coughed before saying, "While I'm glad one of you know who I am, that doesn't excuse what you two are doing out of bed."

Izuku's joy quickly turned to dread. Oh right, we're in huge trouble now, he thought.

Hagakure spoke up and asked. "Um sir, how long were you listening to us?"

"Long enough," the pro hero said. The man then leaned forward to get a better look at the one who asked the question. "My what an odd quirk you have little missy," he said in a surprised tone.

Tooru replied awkwardly with, "Thanks, sir?"

"You're welcome. But to answer your question though I approached you two once you separated from Tokoyami-san," Tiger explained.

Hagakure asked with concern in her voice, "He's not in trouble like we are, is he?"

The pajama-wearing hero shook his head before responding with, "That nightly exercise of his has been approved by your homeroom teacher. He won't be punished like you two will soon be."

Izuku gulped at those words but then asked, "But how did you know we were awake?"

The pro hero answered with, "You seem well informed about my team boy. What is Ragdoll's quirk?"

"Oh, that's Search! It allows her to observe and track up to a hundred people at once just by looking at them," Midoriya explained happily. But then he realized what she did and facepalmed. However, this sprung another question from him, "But wait we haven't seen Ragdoll today? How did she mark us?"

Tiger cleared his throat before explaining, "Ragdoll and I stayed in our lodges today, but we observed your class's arrival from inside our place. One of the main reasons Eraserhead brought you here was so you all could be monitored for your safety. She tagged all of you then as all she requires is visual contact. During the day Ragdoll has been assigned to keep track of all of you at all times. And at night she wakes up hourly to check if everyone is safe. This does put a burden on her sleep, but by now she can power through it. On the last hour, Ragdoll detected you two near Tokoyami-san. She woke me to see what you were up to. I caught sight of you three as you went your separate ways. And I arrived at this shed when you started talking about whether or not to reveal your relationship to your peers."

Izuku's face went crimson at this. He had hoped that the Tiger hadn't heard that part. Tooru then asked, "Why did you let us talk for so long before confronting us?"

"Once I got a grasp of what was being discussed I decided to let you two talk it out. I'm not so rude to interrupt a couple's quarrels. Besides you two sound quite precious together. Only when Midoriya-san declared that it was time for bed did I feel it was necessary to step in," the pro hero explained while scratching his chin.

Hagakure then cheerful replied, "Well thank you for letting us figure things out."

"While I appreciate the praise, you shouldn't be thanking me, who knows what kind of punishment Aizawa-san has for you once I explain to him what has happened tonight," the pajama-wearing hero said.

Tiger seemed like a more forgiving man, so in a desperate attempt to lessen their punishment, Midoriya asked, "Can't you just discipline us, sir?"

The pro hero wagged his index finger from his left hand as he answered with, "His students, his discipline." The man then turned his back to the teens and continued by saying, "Hagakure-san if you would please give Midoriya-san back his shirt so I can escort you both back to bed."

Tooru replied with a dull, "Yes, sir."

* * *

Izuku awoke to the feeling of exhaustion. Was it because of the sores he still had from yesterday while fighting the dirt beasts? Was it because of the late night visit from Tooru? Perhaps cause it was early? It was also only a little bit past five o'clock in the morning. Or was he simply just not used to sleeping in his new bed for the week? He did toss and turn a lot last night.

Regardless, Midoriya knew today was going to be terrible. Judging from everyone's mood that morning, no one saw his departure from the boy's lodging yesterday night. He did get a quick nod from Tokoyami in passing but that seemed to be it. What the boy honestly was dreading was what punishment was Aizawa going to give him. Would his homeroom teacher be silent or upfront to his classmates about it? Izuku feared the latter.

As Midoriya went to wash his face in the bathroom to help wake himself up, an idea formed in his noggin. After drying his hands, he pulled out his phone and started typing.

All Might: Morning, all. So whatever happens today, please keep Tooru and me being a couple a secret if you can.

A minute passed before a response came.

Lion: Dude, what did you do?

Bubbles: Is everything okay?

Blank: Are you sure about this Izuku?

All Might: It's just a precaution, but it's best it's mentioned now as if things head south then it will be hard to talk to you all later about.

Encyclopedia: So, what happened?

Glasses: If you want us to help Midoriya-kun then you should be upfront about it.

Izuku hesitated for a few moments to answer but slowly began typing. However, a new message popped up which made him stop writing his message.

Blank: I sneaked into the boy's room yesterday and dragged Izuku outside to talk with him. We needed to work out some stuff, and we did, and everything is better now. But one of the Pussycats found us, and we are expecting to be disciplined this morning by Aizawa-sensei.

A few seconds passed before Midoriya wrote a text.

All Might: Basically.

Encyclopedia: Thanks for telling us Hagakure-chan.

Lion: Jeez what a mess. You should have waited until later during our stay here Hagakure-san. I'm sure some alone time between you two could have come up at some point.

Bubbles: I'm just glad you two were able to work out whatever was bothering you.

Glasses: Hmm. Well just hope our homeroom teacher is merciful in whatever punishment he concocts for you two.

Blank: I hope it's not making us go to the remedial classes.

Lion: Oh man, that would be terrible.

Encyclopedia: Aizawa-sensei is calling us over now. It's best we all get here quickly. Good luck you two!

Glasses: Best not be late to further anger Aizawa-sensei.

Bubbles: Whatever happens I'm sure you'll get through it. You two are strong together!

Lion: Hoping for the best.

Tooru: Thanks, everyone!

All Might: Yeah, thanks. This is making feel a bit more confident about this morning.

Izuku put away his phone and sighed in relief. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, he thought. Midoriya then left the bathroom to join his classmates. When he arrived, everyone looked quite tired and mopey. His homeroom teacher was on the ground laying in his signature sleeping bag, looking more annoyed than usual. The sight still bothered the boy, but he also could already guess the source of his foul mood. The two members of the Pussycats that were absent yesterday were greeting the class while they waited for the rest of the students to show up. After a few minutes, Aizawa got out of his sleeping bag once he noticed everyone had come and dusted himself off.

"Before I go over our training regime for the week I have an announcement to make," Shota said in a serious voice. He crossed his arms as he explained, "The reason the Pussycats are helping us this week is specifically for Ragdoll's Search quirk. With her assistance, I feel I can monitor your safety efficiently despite the dangers that have come about these last few days." The homeroom teacher groaned before continuing by saying, "However that means I require you all to behave yourselves. And last night there was a break in curfew amongst two of you."

Izuku started to break into a cold sweat, and when he looked to his right, he saw Tooru start to sag her shoulders.

"Midoriya-san and Hagakure-san front and center please," Eraserhead stated bluntly.

A few gasps and whispers could be heard as the two made themselves to their teacher.

The pro hero gave the two of them a stern look before saying, "For whatever reason, these two decided to stay awake and leave their lodgings last night. Thankfully Ragdoll's quirk sensed their movement and Tiger was able to end their meet-up. The punishment for this shall be that you will clean all the dishes at dinner for the remainder of the week. And they better be spotless or you both will be joining the other students in the remedial classes."

The two responded with a dejected tone, "Yes, Aizawa-sensei."

Shota then returned his gaze to the rest of class 1-A and stated, "Let this serve as a warning to you all. We're here to better yourselves as heroes. And we are expecting the possibility of being targeted by villains this week. So please don't put your safety at risk over something as trivial as what happened last night between these two." He asked in a more quiet voice, "Now could you two step back? I would like to explain our training for this week to everyone."

* * *

Midoriya was laying on the ground, his entire body felt it was on fire.

It was mid-afternoon at this point and the quirk enhancement training was pushing him to his limits. Aizawa had earlier stated he felt his students had grown in knowledge and techniques since starting the hero course. However, their quirks hadn't changed much. This theory of his was confirmed when he asked Bakugo to demonstrate his quirk. The pro hero threw him the same ball from the strength trial on the first day of school. The explosive quirk user was happy to oblige but the results were surprising, it had only gone a few meters further than three months ago. So the focus of this week was to go back to the basics, quirk enhancement.

Tiger came over and towered over Izuku. The pro hero then said, "Giving up are we?"

The pro hero was training only power based quirk users like himself. Later, when class 1B arrived, two students joined Izuku. The first was Jurota Shishida. He was a large and tall teen that was covered in fur. He wore rectangular glasses and had large canines that jutted out from his lower jaw. The other was Sen Kaibara. He was more Midoriya's height and his only distinguishing feature was his shaggy short black hair.

Tiger would spar individually with each of them until they tired out and then would have them do intense stretches as they waited their turn to fight with the pro hero again. Fighting the only combat member of the Pussycats was unreal. In most instances, he didn't even need to use his quirk to dodge each attack that Izuku threw at him. The boy tried to push Full Cowl to 8% like when he arm wrestled with Mashirao but it only lasted for a few moments at a time. Tiger would sometimes use his quirk to counter this. His quirk, Pliabody, allowed him to stretch or flatten his body to effortless dodge his barrages.

This exercise had gone on for hours and was making Midoriya slowly question his sanity and limits of his body. He was glad however that all of his classmates were doing this type of training. It made them so occupied with the grueling exercises that none of them had approached Izuku to ask about his time with Tooru from yesterday. He hoped his girlfriend was having the same luck as he was having at the moment and wondered what kind of training she was going through. However, the thought of dinner and sleeping in his lodgings tonight was giving Midoriya a sense of dread. But that was later and currently, he was trying to focus on his aching muscles.

Izuku groaned and sat back up slowly before saying, "No, sir. Just give me a second."

"That's the spirit," the hulking hero said as he offered something to the exhausted boy. It was a bottle of water and he quickly grabbed it to take a drink. "You deserve a small break by now, enjoy it while it lasts," Tiger said in a haunting tone.

Midoriya looked around and saw no sign of the others that were being trained by the pro hero. Now curious, he asked, "Are the others on break too?"

"Shishida-san is, but Kaibara-san needs to push himself further before he's earned such a break," the hulking hero explained as he took a seat in the grass beside the boy. He then continued by saying, "You know, I feel Hagakure-san and you got off rather well considering what you did and who dealt the punishment."

Baffled at what Tiger was saying, Izuku asked, "What makes you say that?"

The pro hero started to pop his fingers and wrists as he explained, "Cleaning dishes is simple busy work and besides, you two can use the alone time while washing the dishes to stay in touch during your time here. To be honest, I think that's why Aizawa-san decided on this particular type of punishment."

Izuku pondered, Eraserhead being thoughtful to Tooru and him? That didn't sound like his homeroom teacher at all. But hearing Tiger's logic did make the boy wonder the possibility. As Midoriya thought about it harder, he drank the rest of his water. Why was this member of the Pussycats being so nice to him? Yeah, the pro hero was beating him to a pulp currently but he, even going back from last night, was being considerate of Tooru and his situation.

Tiger then spoke up which broke his train of thought, by asking, "You ready for another go Midoriya-san?"

Full of confidence despite his muscles screaming at him to stop, Izuku stood up and proclaimed, "Yes sir!"

* * *

Izuku came to dinner a bit wary of what to do.

Training was over for the day, and both classes had worked together to create enough curry for all to eat. Minoru and Denki had been nagging Izuku as he tried to help prepare the meal. He kept on telling them that Tooru was just worried about what happened to him on Thursday and just wanted to check on him if everything was okay, but they didn't seem to be buying it. Once the food was made he saw Kota walking away on his own and used it as an excuse to escape his two classmates.

Once he caught up, the exchange between him and Kota went south pretty fast. Midoriya learned that the boy not only hated heroes but quirked society itself from talking to him. He attempted to tell his own story, as a lie that it was a friend, of being quirkless yet looking up to heroes. Izuku tried to explain that rejecting everything would just be an endless cycle of pain and hatred to Kota. But the young kid was having none of it. Seeing no other way to argue his point, the teen left the plate of curry he brought and left.

Now that Midoriya was back at the complex and had grabbed a plate of food for himself, an old predicament came rearing its head back into his life.

Where was he going to sit?

During yesterday's dinner, his group of friends decided to just mingle with their classmates for once, as there really wasn't a table they could exclusively sit at. Izuku looked around to find Tooru was seated with Mashirao and Ochako on the ground on a tablecloth a bit away from the benches where the rest of the class was. His tailed friend was giving a stern look over at his classmates, and Uraraka was busy talking with Hagakure. He thought, joining them probably wouldn't be for the best.

Kaminari soon approached and said, "Hey, Midoriya-san we got plenty of room over at our table. Why not join us?"

Midoriya gave a long sigh and then replied with, "I'd rather not Kaminari-san, you're just gonna ask me with more questions about Hagakure-san."

Kaminari crossed his arms as he stated, "Well maybe if you just spilled the beans about the truth then I wouldn't have to-" He was interrupted as he started vibrating before collapsing at his feet. As he fell, Jiro was revealed to be standing behind him, holding a bowl of curry and her plug earlobes were raised to where Kaminari was standing.

Kyoka looked down at him and said, "Would you give it a rest Kaminari-san?"

Denki could only groan in response.

Jiro shook her head in disappointment before looking up and asking, "Mind joining me Midoriya-san? I'll be sure to keep riff-raff like this one from bothering you if you're okay with that."

Her offer threw Izuku off, but it seemed like the best option at the moment, and he responded with, "Sure, Jiro-san, and thanks." He followed Kyoka to a covered walkway by the lodgings. She sat down and then patted the space to her right. Midoriya hesitated a moment but took a seat by her.

Before taking a bite of his curry, as he was starving by this point, Izuku asked, "Why are you doing this for me Jiro-san?"

"Cause whatever happened last night between you and Hagakure-san is none of our business," Kyoka stated bluntly before finishing her bowl of curry. She didn't have much left to begin with. After finishing her bowl, she set it down and continued by saying, "And I guess this is my way of saying thanks for helping Koda-san the week before our finals."

Midoriya gave her a confused look as he continued eating his curry. As he tried to chew faster so he could swallow so he could respond to her, Jiro instead spoke first by saying, "Though I guess I should thank Ojiro-san as well at some point. Either way, if neither of you had come to his rescue that day, then he might have never been stable enough to help me pass the practical portion of the exam. Remedial lessons would have been the worst."

Izuku thought back to when he watched his classmates during the exam on the monitors with Recovery Girl. Koji and Kyoka were against Present Mic and from what he could tell, they were struggling early on. His voice quirk was just too much for the two to handle. Jiro's quirk was left useless, and Koda had no animals to assist him, well except insects. But his entomophobia was preventing him from using his animal voice quirk to command the bugs. It wasn't until Koji noticed that Kyoka's ears were bleeding did he do something. She was using her earphone jacks to cancel out as much as Present Mic's quirk as she could. It motivated the animal speaker to command the surrounding insects to subdue their opponent. And since they traveled through the ground to confront the pro hero, the one weakness of his quirk, they were able to pass as the bugs subdued Present Mic.

Izuku swallowed his food before saying, "It is nice to see Koda-san coming out of his shell since I've met him." He had observed Koji make good progress the last two days.

Yesterday Midoriya saw Koda immediately try and use his quirk to calm the dirt beasts, even if it failed as they weren't actually animals. For him to speak in front of the rest of his classmates must have been a big step forward for him. And then there was Koji's training today. It startled Izuku to hear the large teen's voice from across the training grounds. He thought Koda was in trouble and was about to leave until Tiger stopped him explaining the situation. The pro hero stated that the large teen's quirk could use some range to it, and it was decided the best course of action was for him to yell repetitively to get used to speaking louder.

"To be honest, it was easy to forget his existence in our class at the start for me. But you're right, Koda-san is changing for the better," Jiro said. She then put a finger around one of her earphone jacks and twirled it a bit before asking, "Speaking of which, do you mind if I ask you some questions about Koda-san?"

The girl's inquiry seemed misplaced to Izuku, as Mashirao knew Koji better than he did. But then again, he thought, Kyoka wouldn't know that. Despite his hunger, the boy placed his bowl of curry to his side before saying, "I'll try to answer the best I can, but no promises."

Jiro crossed her arms as she said, "Fine by me, as I got no clue what to do next so I'll take any advice that I can." She then sighed before continuing by explaining, "I've been trying to help Koda-san with his anxiety issues, but haven't had much success. He thanked me after our exam for motivating him to act against Present Mic-sensei. It surprised me to hear him speak during the practical, and even more so afterward. I mean I wouldn't have passed if it wasn't for him and yet he is thanking me? So I wanted to pay him back somehow. Talking to him since hasn't helped though, he just shuts down and leaves within seconds."

Midoriya placed a hand on his chin as he said, "Koda-san has always been very shy from what I've been told. And he usually only tries to interact with people that animal-related quirks. And well, you're quirk isn't like that. Plus you're a girl." He felt the last part might have come off as a bit blunt, but it needed to be said. Izuku then continued by saying, "If you've been trying to talk with Koda-san since our exam then it's way too soon to give up just yet Jiro-san. Progress is going to be slow and it's going to take more than just a week with him to make any headway."

Kyoka groaned and then responded with, "I know, but when will I know I'm making any progress?"

Izuku thought for a bit before he explained, "Well, first of all, if he stays longer to listen to whatever you have to say would show if you are making a breakthrough. Maybe start off with simple stuff instead of just trying to have a full-blown discussion, that might feel less intimidating for him."

Jiro then said, "Good idea. Have you noticed anything else about Koda-san as you became friends with him?"

"Well when he first spoke to me, the vocabulary he used was quite, expansive," Izuku replied.

Kyoka pointed upwards with an index finger from her right hand as she stated, "Oh, so he does that often? I thought it was just something he was doing in front of me."

Midoriya nodded as he responded with, "It's a habit of his. But once he becomes more comfortable with you his speech becomes more normal."

Jiro then looked to go deep in thought at these words. With her occupied, Izuku grabbed his bowl of curry again and began eating. As he ate, he started to think back to the day on the roof when he and Mashirao helped Koji. The boy remembered the thought of wanting to help the large teen with his social problems. In the end, it seemed Kyoka was more assertive than he was in this fact. This got Midoriya to give a short chuckle after swallowing some food.

This seemed to annoy Jiro, and she then asked, "What's so funny?"

Midoriya put down his spoon in the bowl of curry and put up his free hand defensively before stating, "Sorry, it's just that what you are doing is kind of what I planned to do for Koda-san."

"And what made you want to help him? And don't say it's just because you two are friends," Kyoka said while pointing at the boy.

Izuku explained, "Well, he reminds me of myself before I came to this school. I mean Koda-san has it a lot worse than I did, but I still feel I could relate to his troubles. Plus he's a friend of Ojiro-kun from their previous school. With all that in mind, it just felt right to want to help him, like you do."

The boy's explanation seemed to calm Jiro. She then stated, "I guess I can see that. But then again you've come a long way because of Hagakure-san."

Her words got a soft groan from Midroiya. She was right, but he hoped to avoid talking about her if possible.

Kyoka then asked, "Hey now, I don't care about whatever business happened between you and her yesterday night. But you can't deny being friends with her has helped right?"

Izuku looked down at his curry for a few moments but eventually gave nod.

Jiro then said, "Good. Anyways it looks like everyone is finishing up out there. You probably should join Hagakure-san to start cleaning things up. Later." She then grabbed her bowl and got up to leave.

However, before she left Midoriya asked, "Wait, Jiro-san. How did you figure me and Koda-san were friends?"

"Oh, that's easy. The only time Koda-san stayed around to hear what I had to say was when I talked about you. I just mentioned the fact I was surprised you and Bakugo-san were able to work together and pass against All Might-sensei. I mean, Koda-san didn't say anything, but I did get a nod from him," Jiro replied. She then took her leave.

Izuku sat there for a few more moments until he saw his homeroom teacher start to make his way towards his direction with a scowl on his face. The boy scarfed the rest of his food and went over to the angered Eraserhead.

* * *

Midoriya had cleaned dishes with his mom for many years. Ever since he could reach the sink, he's tried to help Inko. But washing the aftermath of a dinner for almost fifty people was something he wasn't ready for. It didn't help that Hagakure didn't seem to be the best at it.

The two were inside the Pussycat's lodging, and it was a shared living. The pro heroes had their respective rooms, two on the first floor, and two on the second. And on the first floor they had the living room with a kitchen. Since they were away from their classmates and the adults were in their rooms, the two had the privacy to talk to each other. Maybe this was Aizawa's plan all along like Tiger suggested, Midoriya thought.

"I bet this is happening to me because of all the karma for me never helping my mom with dishes," Tooru complained as she struggled to clean a pan that had burnt food particles at the bottom.

Izuku then asked, "Do you just want me to do that pan Tooru?"

"I might as well get the practice in now; we got to do this for another five days. And I'd rather not have you do all the hard work, I'm the reason we are even doing this," Tooru said with a long sigh.

Midoriya was quick to argue, "But I agreed to go with you Tooru. And besides, I should have remembered about Ragdoll's Search quirk. So I think I share equal blame here."

"If you say so Izuku," Hagakure stated as if she felt it was still mostly her fault.

After completing some more plates, Midoriya asked, "So how has your training been?"

"Terrible," Tooru said bluntly. She dropped a plate into the drying rack with a clank before explaining, "First, Ragdoll had me spar with her. And since she can sense me even if I'm completely invisible it was a total shutout. I've never had any real combat training minus learning to dodge. Then there was this diabolical obstacle course she made me do. It had me bending in ways I never knew my body could do and had leaking paint everywhere that kept me on my toes at all times. Ragdoll would make me go through it as fast as possible with getting as little paint on me as possible. And of course, I was a slippery mess. Thank the stars she let me shower before coming to dinner."

The pro hero's training regimen for his girlfriend made sense to Izuku. Her quirk was constant; there was nothing more to do with it to strengthen it. There was that light technique that he observed from her father, but he was sure Tooru didn't want to focus on that right now. Considering that, Midoriya was glad that Ragdoll was sparring with her. If there ever were a time Hagakure faced someone with a quirk that could track her, then she would benefit from learning how to fight.

Izuku was a bit curious about how it might have looked like to see his girlfriend have paint on her. He wondered if she ever did something similar to know, at the very least, what her body shape looked like.

"Izuku I think that plate is plenty clean by now," Hagakure said in a worried voice. He looked down and noticed he was still holding the same dish that he had been washing when Tooru explained her training for the day.

"Sorry I got lost in thought again," Izuku apologized as he put the plate on the drying rack.

Curiously, Tooru asked, "You thinking about our classmates suspecting us being a couple?"

Midoriya lied by saying, "Y-Yeah, today was a bit more s-stressful because of all the questions. Though I guess I'm lucky only Mineta-san and Kaminari-san are bothering me about it so far."

"Yeah, Ashido-san has been the same for me. Asui-san, I mean Tsuyu-chan, has just been giving me stares all day. I think she wants to ask about it but is holding back, which means a lot when you consider how she is usually very forthcoming about what is on her mind," Hagakure explained.

Midoriya grabbed more dish soap and applied it to his sponge before stating, "I saw you with Ojiro-kun and Uraraka-chan at dinner. What was that about?"

Tooru took her hands out of the sink she was working in and started shaking her hands to get the water off. She was wearing gloves, and so was Izuku, but she had water droplets and soap on her wrists still, which gave a faint outline of her arms. Hagakure then leaned against the counter and answered with, "It was Uraraka-chan's idea. She saw me leave the bathroom after my shower and asked if I would be okay with sitting with her on a tablecloth she brought. That way I could be away from everyone else during dinner. Ojiro-san saw what was going on and came over to help keep the boys away if need be."

Hagakure then walked over and brought a glove up to poke her boyfriend in the shoulder and asked, "I saw you walk over with Jiro-san. What was that about?"

Izuku was glad her question sounded of being intrigued, and not of anger. He then explained why Kyoka had asked him over and what they discussed.

Tooru seemed quite engrossed as he described what happened. She then cheerfully said, "Well, that's nice that you both want to help Koda-san. If you need any help I'd be happy to assist."

Midoriya wasn't sure how his girlfriend could be helpful in this, but he replied with, "Thanks, Tooru."

Hagakure then returned to her busy work, and the two remained silent for a few minutes until she asked, "So do you think we can keep our secret for the rest of the trip?"

"We have to try at least," Izuku answered with a sigh.

"Yeah I know, but you already know my position on this whole deal," Tooru said in a slightly annoyed tone.

Midoriya brought his hands out of the sink defensively and responded with, "I'm sorry, but I just wanna reveal it a later time if we can."

Hagakure brought her hands out of the sink as well. She then intertwined her fingers with his and stated, "It's fine Izuku, at least I have a date to look forward to for us to be open with our class about us now."

"Thanks for understanding Tooru," Izuku said as he removed his hands from hers and hugged her. This surprised the girl, but she returned his embrace. He then said, "Sorry I'm being so stubborn about this."

"I'd rather you be truthful about how you feel then let me steamroll over you with my views Izuku," Tooru said softly in his ear.

A voice brought both of them to look in the direction as it said, "Oh you two really are quite precious." It was Tiger; the top of his head was peering over the couch in the living room. Just as the night before he looked to be wearing his tiger pajamas.

Hagakure awkwardly responded with, "Oh hello there sir. I'm guessing you've been eavesdropping on Izuku and me since the beginning again?"

The pro hero brought up his two index fingers and poked them together a few times before stating, "Yes and no."

Midoriya gave him a baffled look as they separated from their hug.

Tiger then coughed before saying, "I mean yes I've been here for quite some time, but I'm not alone."

The other members of the Pussycats came out from the behind of the couch with guilty looks on their faces.

Midoriya was quite close to fainting from the embarrassment of it all. While the hero team happily approached the two, he then dreaded what would happen tonight in the boys lodging. Tonight's hell had just begun.

* * *

Izuku was in the boy's bathroom staring at his reflection in the mirror. He and Tooru had finished the dishes just minutes before. After the Pussycats stopped teasing him and his girlfriend, he explained what his training regime was as they did the last of the cleaning. They had to get the all-clear by their homeroom teacher before they could go to their cabins for the night. Midoriya had taken a detour to the bathroom to calm his nerves before heading to the boy's lodgings. As he stood there, he thought that at the very least Ida and Ojiro would be there to help him if it got rough.

Izuku then noticed the door open and Fumikage head poke into the bathroom. "There you are Midoriya-san," he said in relief. He stepped in and closed the door behind him before stating, "Some of the guys are getting restless that you still haven't returned."

"Yeah, I figured," Midoriya said in a groan.

"You might as well get over there now and just to get it over with," Tokoyami suggested.

With a sigh, Izuku nodded and replied with, "You're right. Staying here any longer isn't going to help."

Fumikage gave a thumbs up as he said, "Good luck."

Midoriya gave a shaky thumbs up as well, which got a small grin from the bird-headed student. They both then left the bathroom and made their way to the boy's lodging. It was loud even from outside the door. Which didn't help Izuku's thoughts on the situation, but he opened the door regardless. His entrance made the room go silent as all heads turned towards him.

Kaminari broke the silence by saying, "Finally, I started to think you were gonna run away with Hagakure-san or something."

"No just cleaning pots, dishes, and silverware for everyone here takes a while," Midoriya explained as he walked on over to his futon.

Mineta walked on over to Tokoyami and asked, "Where did you find Midoriya-san?"

"Bathroom stall," Fumikage replied bluntly. He then walked away from the short teen as not the be bothered.

Izuku looked around to see no sign of Tenya, and his anxiety started to skyrocket. Mashirao approached him and said, "Ida-kun isn't here right now I'm afraid."

Midoriya asked quickly, "Why?"

"He mentioned having a meeting tonight with the class reps from 1B to plan something fun for us to do tomorrow evening just after dinner," Ojiro explained.

Izuku groaned as he laid his head on his pillow. He thought, maybe if he just tried to go to sleep early then he could just ignore the others. But he then saw both Denki and Minoru walk over and sit by his side.

Mashirao then walked over and stood in-between the two and his friend. "Come on guys, let Midoriya-kun sleep. It's been a long day for all of us."

"Not until you tell us more about what happened last night," Mineta demanded.

Midoriya sat up on his futon and said dryly, "I already told you Hagakure-san was still upset about what happened Thursday and wanted to talk about it."

"And that part we believe Midoriya-san, but we both think you are more than just good friends we with her," Kaminari explained.

"To be honest I agree with them too," said Sero from the other side of the room. He then got up to join the others.

Kirishima walked into view and said, "Yeah something fishy is going on between you two."

"Excusez-moi, but I also feel there is a strong bond between Midoriya-san and Hagakure-san," Aoyoma said as he entered Midoriya's field of vision while in an odd pose.

Izuku started to break out into a cold sweat at this point. He looked around to see if anyone else was about to join in. Katsuki had his back turned away from everyone as he laid on his side. Shoto was busy reading a book. Fumikage had his eyes closed and was leaning on the back wall with Koji at his side. The large teen had a concerned look on his face but was also clasping his throat with one hand. Izuku guessed all the yelling had left him with a sore throat. Mezo was making his futon. Rikido looked somewhat interested in what was going on as he sat legs crossed on his futon observing the carnage.

Mashirao grunted then spoke up by asking, "And why would it matter if there was?"

Midoriya froze at the statement. He thought, what was his tailed friend doing?

Mineta went on a rant as he said, "Cause of all of us to get a girl in our class, it being Midoriya-san is blowing my mind if it was true. I mean no offense but the guy was a bumbling mess when he first came to our school. I mean yeah he's changed a bit since then but to have a girlfriend before any of us? That's crazy!"

Ojiro rubbed his temple as he replied with, "That's such a stupid reason."

"Come on man, you should be bragging about it if she is your girlfriend. I know I would," Kaminari stated proudly.

Midoriya covered himself with his blanket as he asked, "Can you guys just leave me alone already."

Mashirao then asked everyone in front of him, "Are you guys really gonna drag this out for our entire school trip?"

"Hell yeah," Mineta said with a fierce yell.

"I just gotta know," Kaminari said as he clasped his hands together as if praying.

"I'm too curious to let this go," Sero said as he placed a hand on his chin.

"Agreed Sero-san," Kirishima stated with a nod.

"I just have a burning desire to see this through," Aoyoma said as he wrapped his arms around himself.

Bakugo could he heard growling from the other side of the room, which some of the boys looked over to see.

Ojiro, on the other hand, looked down at his friend still wrapped around in his blanket and gave a long sigh. He then said, "Sorry Izuku but this is for your own good."

Midoriya only wrapped himself tighter into a ball when he heard this.

The tailed teen said angrily through his teeth, "Fine then, Midoriya-kun and Hagakure-san have been a couple for a while, you happy?"

A few seconds of silence passed before Hanta asked, "Um, shouldn't Midoriya-san be the one to tell us?"

Mashirao pointed downwards at the ball of a blanket as he answered, "He's obviously not in a state to say such a thing, so I said it to just get this whole charade over with. Five more days of this nonsense would have been too much for him if you include this intense quirk enhancement training we are doing."

Denki stood up and asked, "Wait, you said for a while. How long is a while?"

"I'm not answering any more questions. You got what you wanted now back off," Ojiro stated before kneeling down in front of Midoriya. He then said, "Sorry to have to say it for you but I think it's for the best."

Izuku slowly popped his head out from the blankets. His face was red, and he was holding back tears, but he said, "It's o-okay, at l-least it's b-been done. T-Tooru wanted e-everyone to k-know anyways."

Minoru then brought himself beside the tailed teen and proclaimed, "But I have so many questions! Like what's it like to date an invisible chick? What's kissing her like? Does she enjoy voyeurism? DOES SHE ACTUALLY HAVE FLOATING PANTIES!?"

Mashirao raised his tail and glared at the fresh-picked hero as he stated, "I said no more questions. We clear."

The short teen gave a soft grunt and slinked away.

The other boys that were curious about Izuku's relationship with Tooru were gossiping away about if they noticed any early signs of this new development.

Izuku did his best to drown it out, but something did get his attention as Denki went over to speak with Katsuki.

"Hey Bakugo-san, I thought you'd be at least a bit more interested in Midoriya-san being Hagakure-san's boyfriend."

In a low hiss Bakugo responded with, "And why the fuck would I care who Deku is swapping spit with."

"Don't you want to be number one in everything? I mean he got a girlfriend before any of us," Kaminari said with a shrug.

Katsuki stood up and made a fist as he yelled, "I only want to be number one hero you brain-dead bastard. I don't need some bitch weighing me down." He then laid down and pulled his blanket over him and continued giving off a low growl.

Bakugo's response seemed, expected, Midoriya thought. What was he working himself so much about in wondering how he would react?

The door suddenly was opened by Ida. He looked around to see a couple of the boys huddled together, Ojiro standing over Midoriya who was rolled up into his blanket like he was in a cocoon, and Bakugo cursing under his breath at the other side of the room. He adjusted his glasses before saying, "Okay something happened. Somebody better fess up."

Kaminari made his way over to his class president and asked, "Hey Ida-san, did you know Hagakure-san is Midoriya-san's girlfriend?"

Tenya slowly brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose as he gave a long and drawn out sigh.

* * *

Tiger was effortlessly dodging Izuku's barrage of punches under the blaze of the afternoon sun. The boy collapsed on the ground in exhaustion, but Full Cowl remained activated for a few seconds before dissipating.

"This is good, you're maintaining it longer, even if it's just for a few more seconds," the pro hero stated as he picked up the boy to his feet.

Training had been going a bit different today. Yesterday was just a gauge of what his limit was, today Tiger wanted him to refine Full Cowl. He knew of Midoriya's desire to try and push 8% Full Cowl to be usable, but instead, he wanted his student to focus on maintain 5% for longer periods.

Izuku recalled what the pro hero said at the start of training for the day.

"If you work on your base then your ceiling will be that much stronger!"

As the hulking hero dusted off the boy, he stated, "You've made good progress today Midoriya-san, but I feel that something is off about you. Is everything okay?"

"Just a lot happened last night, sir," Izuku huffed.

Tiger poked his chin with his index finger as he said, "Oh is that about what my teammates and I did while you and your girlfriend were cleaning the dishes? Sorry if that was embarrassing for you both, but I just had to show the girls how you two were together."

"No, it was after that," the green haired boy said after shaking his head.

Now, even more, intrigued, the pro hero asked another question, "Mind telling me what it was?"

"Well, the rest of my class knows about T-Tooru and me now," Midoriya said as he hung his head.

Tiger crossed his arms as he stated, "I see. Then I guess it wasn't done willingly based on your tone."

Izuku wasn't angry at Mashirao, in the end, it did diffuse the situation that night since Tenya wasn't around to maybe stave off the guys' relentless questions. It didn't stop him from feeling flustered about the whole situation, however. Midoriya then replied back, "Yeah but I think it will work out. You heard Tooru both times; she wanted to be open about our relationship."

Speaking of her, the girls didn't find out until this morning. The guys spread the word as the students met up in the morning. Mina and Tsuyu were quick to congratulate Izuku, and the former apologized for bothering him and Tooru with questions about them. Kyoka just gave a nod as she passed by. Tooru while happy about it all, couldn't figure out if she should thank Mashirao or chide him for revealing their relationship at first. In the end, she gave Ojiro a quick hug and thanked him. The chatter was then ended quickly by their homeroom teacher growing annoyed with the increased volume of his students.

"Hey, Midoriya-san if there's anything you want to ask about hero work during our breaks together I'd be happy to answer your questions," the pro hero said while tossing a water bottle to the boy.

Midoriya spent a minute drinking his water to think up of a question to ask, and just as he finished his bottle an idea popped into his head. He placed his empty bottle down before asking, "Can you tell me how the Wild, Wild Pussycats started?"

Tiger gave a thumbs up as he answered with, "Sure thing." He then sat down before explaining with, "Our team has been friends since our hero academy days. It took us a bit, but a year after graduating, we formed our unit. The whole idea was Mandalay's, so we made her our leader. I spent some time in Thailand in our early days but other than that we've been together for over a decade now. I might be the only actual combat member of our team, but we specialize in mountain rescues anyhow. Again that decision was Mandalay's doing. I actually rather enjoy this take on my hero career, as I get to help people more directly and it's less dangerous for my team and me. Not to say I wouldn't give my life at a moment's notice for them, but I can't deny I like the low-risk, for my teammates at least, rescue mission we usually partake in."

By this point, Izuku had taken a seat in front of the pro hero and then asked, "So what's it like to be a part of a team like yours?"

"Different than most," the hulking hero replied. He then crossed his arms before explaining further with, "Hopefully you've already noticed by now that hero teams are uncommon. Solo careers are the popular direction most heroes take once they get their footing in the industry. Even then, most heroes teams have a leader who is much more powerful or popular than his comrades, who are usually inexperienced, interns, or just support quirked heroes. That leader gets almost all the fame and glory that come with the job. And that's fine and all, everyone's got different ideas and goals on what they want to do as a hero. But I like the idea of all of us being equals. Mandalay might be our leader, but we all share our salary and credit for everything. It's a nice feeling I guess. Though because we are so close, the thought of one of us getting injured or, worse is a much larger concern in our type of team. It's one thing to lose a partner; it's another to lose family." Tiger gave a somber face after finishing but quickly shook his head before asked, "Why did you ask me this Midoriya-san?"

Midoriya responded with, "Well our hero course at U.A. hasn't gone into the specifics of hero teams yet. So I thought who better to ask than a member of a pro hero team that has been in the business for as long as you have sir."

"I'm flattered," Tiger said with a grin. He then got up and continued by saying, "Well I do believe I should go check up on those two boys from 1B. Just rest a bit here until I return, then we'll return to the pain." The hulking hero gave a wink before making his leave.

Midoriya was glad that Tiger was his trainer for the week, as he was strong and quite knowledgeable. But it did make him wonder, would he ever get to train with All Might like this again? The two had only had brief interactions since his ten months long training with the pro hero before the entrance exams. As grueling as it was, Izuku missed those days he spent with his mentor. Maybe when he returned to school after the summer break, he would ask if he could have private lessons with the number one hero. The boy quickly got up and started stretching. Midoriya knew the pro hero had asked him to rest, but he wanted to push himself to improve Full Cowl so he could impress All Might of his progress when he got back.

* * *

Another dinner meant another night of Izuku and Tooru cleaning the aftermath. Today the food was stew which thankfully meant a bit less cleaning needed to be done. The two had mostly remained silent as there was so much to do, and because they were afraid to be listened in on by the Pussycats. However, as they finished cleaning all the bowls, Ragdoll came out of her room to grab something from the fridge and swore that her teammates wouldn't bother the two today.

After the pro hero left, Tooru asked, "So how did the guys take the news?"

Izuku explained the events that lead up to the reveal and then up to Tenya's arrival. After the class president had been told by Mashirao what happened, he figured saying anything more on the matter to his currently wrapped in a blanket friend wouldn't help. Instead, he went over to lay in on Minoru and Denki for pestering Izuku. Once things had calmed down, the five that approached Midoriya congratulated him on his relationship. The dynamic duo also apologized, tho in Mineta's there was a hint of jealousy. After that, it was lights out and the long day finally ended for them all.

After Midoriya finished his explanation, Hagakure then asked another question, "I know Ashido-san is gonna ask about this, so it okay if I talk about our dates and stuff with her tonight?"

"Go ahead, I mean if you are comfortable with it I don't see why not," Izuku responded as he dropped another pile of spoons into the sink.

Tooru then cheerfully stated, "Okay thanks. I just wanted to be sure. I wonder if this will be as fun as when I told Uraraka-chan and Yaoyorozu-chan during our sleepover." She then continued by saying, "Sorry that your plan to reveal us after the summer break fell apart the same day you made the promise to me."

Midoriya sighed before saying, "It's fine. At least we can just try and focus on our training for now."

Hagakure then asked, "You're not worried about the guys pestering you anymore?"

"I think at this point as long as I have Ojiro-kun and Ida-kun with me they can strive off the guys for the week. I'll deal with the rest of it myself when I get back to school," Midoriya replied as he placed a couple of spoons on the drying rack.

Hagakure then teased, "So no telling the dudes how our dates went then?"

Izuku bluntly answered with, "Nope." This got a chuckle from his girlfriend, but he didn't join in as he was quite serious. He was quite alright with just Mashirao and Tenya being the only ones to know. Telling the others was just not going to happen anytime soon, if at all.

The two finished their second time of punishment hastily. Tonight there was going to be something special, that the class presidents had thought up for fun. The two were eager to see what it was as the Pussycats came to inspect and okay their handiwork. The hero team then left but not before reminding them to go outside and participate once they finished.

As they were drying off, Tooru asked, "Hey Izuku did you ever figure out what you wanted to do for your birthday?"

Izuku froze, he totally forgot about that. It was going to happen just after the trip was over. Between being held hostage and this training, he hadn't been able to brainstorm of what to do.

The boy's reaction told his girlfriend everything she needed to know. She then asked another question, "Might I offer a suggestion?"

"Go ahead," Midoriya said rapidly.

Hagakure then replied slowly with, "If you remember back to our trip to the beach during my birthday, I said I wanted for us to go there again. Why not go there to celebrate your birthday?"

The boy's brain halted for a second before slowly going what was happening. The beach. As in swimsuits. As in Tooru in a swimsuit. On his birthday as well? It sounded like a match made in heaven. Izuku could already feel his cheeks becoming hot from the oncoming blush, but he replied with, "That s-sounds like a w-wonderful idea T-Tooru." Even he couldn't deny wanting to see his girlfriend in a swimsuit.

In a worried tone, Tooru stated, "You sure? I mean if the image of me in a swimsuit is too-,"

Izuku interrupted her and said with more confidence, "It's fine Tooru. I want to go to the beach with you!"

"Alright then, glad that's settled. Now let's go see what Ida-san and the rest of the student council have cooked up for us," Hagakure said as she grabbed her boyfriend's hand and pulled him outside the pro hero's lodging.

As the two made their way to forward, Izuku had a smile on his face, and thought, I hope the rest of the trip works out for all of us.

* * *

 **Sorry, for releasing late again (and it wasn't because of its length, which is the longest chapter I've written yet). I finished the chapter rough draft on Saturday night, but it needed some super heavy editing. I went through a lot of scene redos and even scrapped one entirely and moved its' parts to other scenes. Today was actually my last day of regular work for the year, so I do have a lot of time to work on chapter sixteen during the holiday season. Remember that after that point chapter release will become monthly. I hope that prevents these delayed chapters problem I've been having lately once and for all and gives me more time to plan and edit things as I go forward.**

 **So yes, their relationship is now known to everyone. Keeping it a secret for longer would have gotten tiresome (and unrealistic, they were able to keep it under wraps for about four weeks and any while longer would have felt off), plus I felt doing it here would give reason to have scenes at all at this point in the story. It got me an opportunity to use a lot of characters from class 1-A though, which have been mostly absent in this fic. It is a struggle to juggle them all, so I might as well give the major stuff to the minor characters (Fumikage, Kyoka, and Koji by mention). We already have a good idea of what the major characters are like because of their significant presence in the manga, so why not expand on ones that have little screen time?**

 **I wanted to add on to the scene between Izuku and All Might as to continue my take on the pro hero's interest in his successor's well being outside hero work. The guy is a father figure to Midoriya; it makes sense he would want an update on how things are progressing with Tooru. Plus it's fun to have the two talk about things besides schoolwork or heroics (minus Izuku asking about how he did on the exam, which just was used as a way to summarize it).**

 **Tooru's late nightly visit was also fun to write, as I haven't done her sneaking in to spend time with Izuku since chapter four. I felt it was best to have Tiger confront them because he would be the one training with Midoriya, which gave me more of a reason for the two to interact the way they did during those two break scenes of theirs. It also was a catalyst to use Fumikage and Kyoka (and Koji again by mention). It somewhat foreshadows Tokoyami's rampage in the forest battle, and I've wanted to use him for some time. Jiro was used to build on Koda's development since the final exam but also because I could see her finding her classmates hounding on Izuku as getting on her nerves.**

 **Deciding on the reveal had me at three options: predictable, unpredictable, and random. Tooru felt too predictable as the one to say it, but if I had chosen that choice she would have said it in the girl's lodging, and Mina would have spread the word the next morning. Izuku was the second option, but I didn't think he would be ready to speak about it to all the guys, so I scrapped it. The random choice is what I chose (thanks to some advice from Random Useless Info), and it was of course Mashirao. Seeing Midoriya stressing out over it I felt would have made Ojiro want to do the "taking off a band-aid" scenario. Might as well rip the band-aid off quickly and deal with the pain but have it be over with versus the more extended option of slowly peeling it back. Mashirao probably wouldn't have considered the possibility if Tenya was there, hence why I came up with a reason to why he was absent.**

 **And yes I know, there are a lot of scenes in this chapter (10 total). But I wanted to cover most of the school trip as possible in one chapter. I could have made this a two-parter, probably splitting either after Tooru's nightly visit or after Aizawa dealing out the punishment. But again I wanted to resolve the hidden relationship hook this chapter brought, as I felt if I extended it out it would have been a tedious drag to you readers.**

 **The next chapter will be a doozy comparatively for the pairing to this chapter. Sixteen will cover summaries of the forest battle and hideout arc, and will mostly involve alterations to two scenes that will be between and after these events respectively. The next chapter will release on Christmas (for sure this time)! Hope you enjoy my present to you that day!**


	16. In the Open, With Her

Chapter 16: In the Open, With Her

Pain.

Physical pain.

Self-induced physical pain.

This time, however, Izuku was waiting for his girlfriend to comfort him.

It was Thursday. The summer school trip had been cut short. Again, the League of Villains had put a stop to their hero training and threatened their lives. But at the moment all Izuku could do was worry about Katsuki to think about anything else that had happened that day.

Bakugo was gone.

Katsuki had been kidnapped by the combined efforts of the villains. They almost got Fumikage too if it hadn't been for the last second save by Yuga's navel laser and Mezo's desperate grab of him. Izuku too tried to save his former friend but his injuries got the best of him, and he wasn't able to make it. Todoroki and Shoji who ran ahead, also failed to grab the second marble before it along with the rest of the villains were teleported away by the shadowy warp user from the last villain invasion.

Where was Bakugo now? Was he even alive? And if he was, was he being tortured? Were they trying to convert him? Or did All for One just want his quirk? These were Midoriya thoughts as he dreamed.

Not long ago did Izuku finally wake up. As he had tried to get his bearings the door opened and almost all of class 1A had come to visit. Midoriya's classmates were in his room about half an hour to see how he was doing. After they left, Tokoyami stayed behind and asked if Midoriya wanted him to bring over Hagakure once his checkup with the doctor was over. He, of course, said yes and had been waiting in silence for her arrival ever since the doctors and nurses left.

Tenya had told Izuku earlier that Tooru had been coming every day to watch over those that were injured. Tsuyu and Kyoka had been knocked out by a poisonous gas quirk user. Class 1A got lucky with the gas, as about half of class 1B had been affected by it. Either way, Asui was awake while Jiro was not currently. Tsuyu explained that she had only gotten a whiff of the gas, unlike Kyoka who she rescued by pulling her out of the poisonous fog. She had recovered by late Tuesday and left the hospital yesterday morning. Tenya also mentioned Momo had received a nasty head wound from a Nomu and had only woken up yesterday.

As Izuku waited he felt extremely anxious. After hearing of his current condition from the doctor, he felt he needed to speak with Tooru right away about it.

Thankfully his wish was granted when the door suddenly was opened by Hagakure with Tokoyami behind her. At first, she ran towards her boyfriend, but she stopped just short of his bed.

"Sorry, I almost tackle hugged you there, but I forgot how much pain you are in Izuku. I'm just so happy to see you're fully awake," Tooru said, in a mix of happiness and sadness.

Midoriya got up slowly and started to scoot himself off the bed. As he did this, Hagakure said, "Whoa, now take it easy you are still recovering." Once at the side of the bed he slowly stood up and then hugged his girlfriend. Still, in a worried tone, she stated, "Izuku, doesn't this hurt?"

"It does, a bit, but I really need this right now," Izuku said as he tightened his grip on the invisible girl. He then felt her gently return in the embrace, probably as to not further cause him harm, the boy thought.

After a few moments, a cough from Fumikage, which startled the two, and he then said, "Well I'll make my leave now. Don't do anything rash Midoriya-kun. Just focus on getting better."

The couple noticed Tokoyami's change in addressing Midoriya. The boy thought, did Mezo tell Fumikage about his drive to save the out of control hero despite wanting to save Katsuki as well.

Regardless, Tooru cleared her throat and was quick to reply, "Thanks for telling me Midoriya-kun was up Tokoyami-san!" With his back to them, he gave a slight wave with his right hand as he opened the door with the other and left the room. Hagakure stated with a curious voice, "What did Tokoyami-san mean by focusing on getting better? It's not like you are going anywhere with those injuries anytime soon."

Midoriya knew precisely what Tokoyami meant by those words. Kirishima and Todoroki were planning to save Bakugo. They had told him earlier that they had come to visit their injured classmates yesterday on their own. When they went to visit Yaoyorozu, she had just woken and was speaking to All Might and the police. The two listened in as the girl explained that she had the 1B student, Yotesu Awase, that saved her place a tracker she created on one of the Nomu with his welding quirk. Momo also made a receiver that she hoped could be used to rescue Katsuki.

Eijiro had already asked Momo yesterday to make another receiver so he and Shoto could attempt a rescue. Everyone else that had come to visit Izuku heard of the plan and a few voiced their opposition to the idea. The discussion, however, was cut short as a doctor arrived and asked everyone to clear out so he could do a check up on Izuku.

As the students left Kirishima stayed behind to tell Midoriya that they planned to go ahead with the plan tonight, and if wanted to join them, that would be the time to do it. After he left, Tokoyami then asked about Hagakure.

Izuku couldn't tell Tooru what had just occurred minutes ago when everyone was in the room. He hoped his classmates hadn't mentioned the idea to his girlfriend while they visited Kyoka, and it seems they hadn't going by her question. With all of this in mind, Midoriya replied, "I think he just means I should take it easy for the rest of the summer. No training and such. My injuries are quite severe."

"I guess so," Tooru said as she parted from the hug. She then said, "When Tokoyami-san told me you were fully awake, he said I should wait till your check up to be finished. But I left anyway, and I've been waiting outside for some time."

Confused, Izuku sat down on his bed as he asked, "Wait if you've been outside since then, why didn't you come in right after the doctor and nurses left? They have been gone for a few minutes."

In a hesitant tone, the invisible girl answered with, "I was scared. Scared to hear how badly you were hurt. And I needed a bit of time to pull myself together to come in here. I'm glad Tokoyami-san waited with me. It was comforting with him just being there."

Hagakure had good reason to be worried about Midoriya's injuries. They were quite extensive, as the doctor reported to him during the check-up. Most of these injuries were when he was trying to protect Kota from a villain during the attack. At the beginning of the villain attack, Mandalay couldn't locate Kota, but Izuku had a good idea where he was. When he had visited the kid the night prior, he called the location his secret base. Izuku figured Kota would be there again and he was right.

However, as he arrived, a hooded figure attacked the young boy. Midoriya intervened at the last second and began to brawl with the muscular villain. The man described his quirk as being able to manipulate his muscle fibers to enhance his power and speed drastically. Full Cowl wasn't enough, and even thrashing his body with 100% only temporarily stopped the hulking murderer. During the scuffle, Izuku learned that the man he was fighting was, in fact, the one that killed Kota's parents. He also learned that the League of Villians was looking to capture Katsuki. Once the muscular villain fought seriously, Midoriya was backed into a corner. From being in such a pinch, his urge to save Kota, to warn Katsuki, to not let down All Might, and to come back alive to his mom he activated One for All at hundred percent one more time now raging full of these emotions and was able to knock out his opponent. But Izuku's felt his body was even more thrashed than the aftermath of his battle with Shoto during the Hero Festival. He then later had his upper right arm and shoulder burned by a blue flame wielding villain.

Tooru spoke up and said, "So how bad is it? And please don't try and sugar coat it Izuku."

Midoriya sighed before answering with, "My ligaments are deteriorating. And if I keep using my quirk at full power without proper control I might lose the ability to use my arms forever."

Hagakure gasped at this but remained silent.

Izuku continued with, "I haven't seen what my right arm looks like without my bandages yet, but I expect to have a lot of scars. I can sort of feel where they might be." He then brought his left arm up and carefully felt around his right arm to see if he was correct, and it definitely felt different.

Tooru said with a whimper, "Is there anything you can do about it?"

It pained Izuku to hear his girlfriend on the verge of tears, but he replied, "Rehab and to never use my full power again until I can control it. I need to instead focus on only using Full Cowl for now. It's my only safe option when using my quirk."

"Not using the full power of your quirk is what you said last time Izuku," Hagakure stated in a more upset tone. She continued with, "At the Sports Festival you said you could use your quirk without harming yourself, but you ended up doing the opposite. Now you have Full Cowl, and yet it happened again."

Silence followed, as Midoriya tried to come up with a reply but she was telling the truth, and he couldn't argue that.

The boy's girlfriend, however, broke the silence and said, "But it's not like I don't understand why you did what you did."

Izuku then watched as he saw Tooru take out a piece of paper from her pocket. After it unfolded, it was slowly brought to him, and he grabbed it. Before reading it, Izuku asked, "What's this?"

Hagakure explained, "Your doctor gave it to me yesterday, to cheer me up, I think. It's a letter from Kota. From what I can gather, if you hadn't gone all out, you and that boy would be dead right now, right?" Her boyfriend gave a soft nod before explaining exactly what happened that night between him and the berserk murderer. As he told his story, he mentally read Kota's note. The young boy had apologized for punching him and thanked Midoriya for saving him even though he had just met him. After Izuku finished, Tooru said, "I figured as much. You wouldn't have pushed yourself this hard if you didn't have to. So I'm not mad at you, just afraid of what happens next time."

Midoriya was glad his girlfriend wasn't upset with him, but it still pained him that she was scared for his future. To try and cheer Hagakure up, he stated, "Well to start I'm going to hold off on exercising for a few weeks. Then slowly do light weight lifting and stretches after that. I've also wanted to get some more advice from All Might-sensei about my quirk, so I plan to ask him when we get back to school."

The invisible girl curiously asked, "Why do you want to specially talk to All Might-sensei?"

Midoriya realized what he just said and in a panic thought back to his first encounter with Todoroki and then answered, "W-Well he has a strength enhancing quirk like me so I thought he would be my best bet for seeking advice." He thought, a similar statement seemed to work on Shoto, would it work on Tooru?

"Oh, that sounds like a great idea! I'm sure he had to have a lot of muscle training to get as good as he is now," Hagakure said in a much more cheerful tone than before.

Izuku internally sighed in relief. Now that she was in a better mood, he asked, "So how did you and Uraraka-chan do against the villains?"

Before the villain's attack, the class president's night activity was to be a test of courage. Class 1B was on the offensive first. Class 1A would go in pairs down a trail in the woods and the students of class 1B would attempt to scare them. Ochako and Tooru had been paired together. Unfortunately for Izuku, since the students that failed the final had been hauled off for a remedial lesson by Eraserhead, it left the group with an odd number and him as the odd man out, so he was left to go alone. Though in the end it didn't matter, as the boy was group eight, and Hagkure and Uraraka were group five, the last ones to go in before the attack.

Before Tooru could answer, her boyfriend's stomach growled loudly for a few seconds. He had only been on an IV for the last few days. Midoriya's stomach wanted real food now it seemed. He then remembered when he first woke up, and turned to see the bowl of sliced apples on a small drawer at the side of his bed. He reached for them, but the container was snatched away by Hagakure. "Oh no, you don't. You just woke up. You need to take it easy," she said firmly.

"But Tooru, I hugged you earlier just fine. I can eat for myself," Izuku said in a whine.

With a sharp tongue, Tooru replied with, "While I appreciated that hug, that's all you are going to get with me. You need to focus on healing, you said so yourself. Now sit there and stand still so I can feed you while I answer your question."

Midoriya didn't want to argue further and responded with, "Okay, you win."

"That's better," Hagakure stated as she sat down to the left of her boyfriend. She then continued with, "You know Izuku, I'm surprised you resisted the chance to have such a nice girl like me feed you. I would think even you would be okay with that."

This got a slight groan from Izuku. However, just as one of the apples came up towards his face, he asked, "Before you do this, did you make these for me?"

"Nope, your mom bought it this morning. That reminds me, you should call her with this after I leave," Tooru said as she took out an unfamiliar phone out of her pocket. She then continued by explaining, "The police found your broken phone back in the forest, and your mom got you a new one. She gave this to me yesterday and you should call her after I leave, she's worried sick about you." The invisible girl then placed the apple piece to her boyfriend's lips. He didn't expect her to be that quick, but then he realized that was her way of emphasizing the part she said about his mother. Izuku then opened his mouth and accepted the food and chewed hungrily.

As Hagakure brought up another part of an apple she explained, "That crazy blonde girl attacked me and Uraraka-chan outta nowhere with a knife. Luckily she only got a shallow cut on her but then tried to stab me. Uraraka-chan intervened and was able to pin her on the ground. It was creepy that she knew our names and kept saying our first names like we were buddies."

"Her name was Toga," Izuku said out of the blue after swallowing his second apple piece.

Tooru replied, "How do you know that?"

The boy then answered, "After Koda-san plus Ojiro-kun threw me and the others once Uraraka-chan made us weightless. We caught up with the other villains, and I had a short scuffle with Toga at one point, though Shoji-san threw her off of me thankfully. But it was during that time that she revealed her name to me and said I'd look cooler if I were covered in blood."

Hagakure shuddered before saying, "That girl seemed to be obsessed with blood. She sucked some blood from Uraraka-chan with that weird contraption on her back. Luckily you, Shoji-san, and Todoroki-san showed up when you did, cause I froze there once Uraraka-chan got stabbed in the leg. You guys showing up scared her off."

Midoriya put a hand in front of his mouth to stop his girlfriend from feeding him. He then said, "It's okay Tooru. I'm sure Uraraka-chan doesn't blame you for not being able to help. It was a crazy and stressful situation, most people our age would freeze up if such a thing happened right in front of them."

Tooru's shoulders sagged, and she brought down the apple piece she had in her hands as she replied with, "But I want to be a hero Izuku. I need to be able to react to such a predicament. People are going to get hurt, and I need to be able to deal with that and help them, not get scared."

"We're still heroes in training Tooru. This is not something we normally have to deal with yet, especially as first years I'd imagine. But besides that, remember the nature of your quirk. Transparency would usually mean that you wouldn't be on the front lines having to deal with such things," Izuku tried to argue.

The invisible heroine snapped back, "But what if I have to be there with everyone else? I can't rely on just being support all the time Izuku. Sometimes I'm gonna need to be there fighting with everyone else. That's what Ragdoll-sensei tried to teach me!"

Midoriya sighed at the mention of the pro hero. Ida had told him earlier that Ragdoll had gone missing. They only found a pool of blood that matched her, not enough to suggest she was dead, but her body hadn't been found yet. Everyone was hoping she too had been kidnapped by the League of Villains. As the other possibilities were much bleaker. Izuku thought back to when Tooru told him of her combat training with Ragdoll. How he felt it was good for her to get some fighting experience. Putting that thought to mind, he stated, "You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say what Ragdoll taught you was meaningless. Some combat experience wouldn't hurt for the reasons you described."

Hagakure brought up the food once again to her boyfriend's mouth, and he took it. She then said, "It's okay. I'm just worried about her is all." As she continued feeding Midoriya, she said, "That blonde villain was a different level of insane than I'm used to. Like she said she was drawn to attack me and Uraraka-chan cause of our scent. Apparently, we smell like we are in love with someone. It was just bizarre, even from a villain. Toga then went on this rant about wanting to become like the one you love. And then when she asked what boys we preferred said she was into guys that were roughed up and bloodied." Tooru inhaled and exhaled loudly before changing the subject by saying, "But man Izuku, you sure are a quick thinker despite all that pain you must have been in. Once Koda-san and Ojiro-kun showed up you came up with a quick plan to catch up to that villain that captured firecracker and Tokoyami-san."

Not long after Izuku and the two others found Tooru and Ochako, Mashirao and Koji came out of the forest too. They sneaked off from their group to help. Midoriya was glad to see Koda come as it meant he was growing more confident in himself. Regardless seeing the two strong friends of his show up gave him an idea. Uraraka would make him, Shoji, and Todoroki weightless, and the combined force of Ojiro and Koda would be able to launch them towards the meeting point of the villains for one last shot of rescuing Bakugo and Tokoyami.

"Yeah, I probably wouldn't have come up with the idea if Ojiro-kun and Koda-san hadn't shown up," Izuku stated with a sigh of relief.

Tooru then took a piece of apple for herself and after swallowing stated, "Shoji-san told me what you did to save Tokoyami-san. That was a high risk you took."

Midoriya nodded before replying with, "But it was the right choice. I couldn't leave him or Kacchan behind." He did owe a lot to Shoji. After his fight with the muscle manipulating villain, he ran around to find Mandalay, as his phone was smashed so he couldn't contact anyone, to have her use her telepathy quirk to warn Bakugo the villains were after him. However, he first ran into Aizawa and gave his teacher Kota to watch over. The pro hero then asked his student to have Mandalay also spread the message to the students having permission to fight back. After giving Mandalay the messages, Midoriya went off to find Katsuki.

At this point, the boy was becoming delirious from fatigue. It almost cost Izuku his life as Fumikage's Dark Shadow nearly crushed him, but Mezo came to his rescue. He told his rescuee that he lost one of his duplicate arms earlier to a villain. Tokoyami then got angry at the villain but that emotion coupled with the darkness of the night made his quirk go on a rampage he couldn't control. Midoriya thought the muscled Dark Shadow he saw two-nights prior was aggressive, but the massive monstrosity he saw from Fumikage's quirk that night was an entirely different beast. Mezo understood that Izuku wanted to leave to see if Katsuki was safe but also needed help trying to draw the rampaging teen towards a light source. So he gave his rescuee a choice. Midoriya, of course, chose to do both. He told Shoji of his plan for him to instead draw Dark Shadow towards Bakugo and Todoroki, as they left as a pair during the courage test. Their quirks would then provide the light necessary to calm Tokoyami, and it worked.

"It was a desperate gambit, but it was worth it in the end. You really are a team leader Izuku," Tooru said with glee as she stuck another piece of food in Izuku's face. As he chewed the fruit, he could feel a slight blush running up his face. Midoriya enjoyed the praise, but he didn't see himself as a team leader. A leader shouldn't be suicidal, he thought. Izuku shook the thought from his head; such a subject made him queasy.

The two lovebirds finished the last of the apples brought by Inko in silence. Once finished Hagakure got up and stated, "I should probably give you some space so you can talk with your mom." She then walked in front of Izuku and bent down slightly before asking, "Are you being discharged today?"

"Y-Yeah, I'll be heading home this e-evening," Izuku lied. He was going to attempt the rescue, no matter what. But at the same time, he just couldn't tell his girlfriend about it. There was no way she could be okay with the idea.

Tooru then asked another question, "Do you want me to stay around long enough to accompany you home?"

"I think my m-mom will want to pick me up, and I think she's not exactly gonna be h-happy with me, even after I talk to her on the phone. I don't want you to see us argue," Midoriya lied once again.

"I understand," the invisible teen said before she laid a soft kiss on her boyfriend's right cheek. She then leaned back and stated, "I'm going to check on Jiro-san one more time before I go home. It's a bit early for me to leave, but I'm emotionally drained today." Hagakure turned around and took steps towards the door. She opened it and said, "Call your mom and get some rest afterward. Be sure to call me when you get home, okay?"

Izuku gave a nod, and then his girlfriend made her leave.

The boy felt terrible. He didn't deserve that kiss; he just lied to his girlfriend multiple times. Midoriya was going to risk his life again for someone she despised. He knew when this was all over he would have to tell her, but for now, there was something else that required his attention.

Izuku still needed to call his mother. He looked over at his new phone that Tooru left on his bed and then picked it up. The teen was surprised to find his mother had already activated and transferred all his data from the cloud to the device. He was hoping he could use the time setting it up to think of a plan to tell his mom. Instead, he went ahead and called his mother and hoped for the best.

* * *

Izuku was sitting on a train breathing heavily. He had just run as fast as he could from home.

It was Friday evening, and so much had happened in the last day.

Midoriya and the rescue crew, consisting of Kirishima, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and the surprising last addition of Ida, had succeeded in rescuing Bakugo.

From the beginning, the plan was to do so without fighting, and they had succeeded in this goal, but barely. It was a huge gamble, and if Mount Lady and Gran Torino had not helped at the last second, they wouldn't have been able to pull it off. This also included the help from All Might, as he was keeping One for All busy.

The thought of his mentor, however, made Izuku feel queasy. The number one hero had defeated his nemesis but at a cost. The cost was still filling the boy with disbelief. And it was the reason he had run to the subway station and was dreading meeting his mentor at the moment. Midoriya had received a call from All Might just minutes ago and left his house in a hurry because of it.

All Might's time as a pro-hero was over. He had expended what little power of One for All he had left to knock out All for One. For Izuku, a small part of him didn't want to believe it. He couldn't get past this thought this until he saw his mentor.

The train's doors swung open, and the teen leapt up and began his run anew. He was racing towards Dagobah beach, as instructed by All Might. It made sense they were meeting there. It's where everything started between the two, but Izuku hoped it wouldn't end there either. As he rounded another street, he stopped almost immediately.

The sight of police cars and officers surrounded the wooded area that led toward the beach. There was a decent amount of spectators and a few news crews there as well. Midoriya let himself catch his breath before making his way closer. Once he was near, he tried to see if All Might was behind the officers, as it made sense that he would require an escort to be here. Not only was he still most likely quite injured but would be a target for any villain hoping to capitalize on the situation.

But Izuku saw no sign of Toshinori, but someone else did catch his eye. The boy walked up to the police line and yelled, "Ojiro-san! It's me, Izuku Midoriya!"

The lanky detective whipped around and a smirk quickly came upon his face. As he made his way over a male officer stepped in-between the two and said, "Beat it, kid, before I personally escort you outta-."

A hand firmly then placed itself on the policeman's shoulder from behind. Ojiro said in a polite but demanding tone, "Leave this one to me. He's an honored guest of our objective tonight."

"Y-You can't be s-serious, sir. He's just some b-boy," the man in blue tried to argue.

The detective took a few steps towards Midoriya and replied, "A young man he is, yes, but he's also an inspiring student of our objective. And a good friend of my son, so off with you." With that said, the officer backed away slowly as did the others that were nearby.

Izuku was quick to say, "Thanks, sir! Can I run off to see him, please?"

"In due time. Walk with me a bit. You need to stay with me until we get to the beach. Otherwise, you might be stopped by someone else," the lanky man wheezed.

Midoriya responded with, "Are you okay, sir?"

Ojiro waved his right hand in protest while stating, "Worried about me because of my condition? It's fine; today's just been extremely hectic for everyone on the force. I mean they even dragged me here to do an escort. Talk about our resources being thin at the moment."

Surprised at his statement, the green haired teen said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to say you couldn't do your job Ojiro-san."

"It's fine Midoriya-san. It's for the best that Mashirao told you and your friends about my disease. It makes talking to you a little less awkward. It can get annoying when people give you these certain looks wondering what I have and if I could spread it to them. Not to say I thought of you in that way that one afternoon we chatted," the detective explained as the two began walking through the woods towards the beach. He then continued with, "Our chat from that time does remind me of something though. It's not nice to lie to me when it concerns my son."

At first, Izuku was puzzled at the words but then remembered.

My son hasn't been causing any trouble, has he?

Mashirao had almost come to blows with Momo's head butler. Izuku then responded with, "You're right, I'm sorry. It's just at that point I didn't fully understand why he lashed out at my friend's butler that day. And honestly, it was the only time I ever saw him act as he did."

The wheezing man gave a nod and said, "I see. But please be truthful when it concerns my kid. My wife and I might have been able to prevent him from getting suspended if we knew he still had such anger against such people still simmering in him. He acts quite tolerant of them at home, so we were surprised to hear the news from your principal that day."

"Yes sir," Midoriya said in a sorry tone.

"But you know, I was surprised to learn about your relationship with All Might," Ojiro said with a surprised voice. The teen next him gave him a panicked face, but the detective stated, "Don't worry. My pal, Detective Tsukauchi told me about it earlier today. And it will remain a secret. I'm not even gonna tell my wife, much less Mashirao about it. But it's cool to know that my son is a friend with the successor to All Might."

The praise got a small blush out of Izuku, and he replied, "Thanks."

After some walking in silence, the duo had made it to the barrier of the beach. Tsukauchi was there standing at the edge of the wall looking out at sea. "Hey Naomasa-san, Midoriya-san is here," Ojiro stated with an odd tone of enthusiasm.

The younger detective turned his head as he replied, "Ah, Ojiro-senpai, thanks for staying back there and getting him for me. I appreciate it. I needed some fresh air."

A soft groan came from the older detective before he said, "How many times have I told you not to call me by that honorific."

"But you were the one that showed me the ropes when I got this job," Tsukauchi said with a smile.

Ojiro sighed and then responded with, "And that period of your career is over now, and besides, you handle bigger cases than I do nowadays."

"Whatever you say old timer," Naomasa said with a chuckle.

"Now I'm getting mixed signals from you," the lanky man said with a few coughs.

While the conversation between the two was interesting, Izuku was more focused on the figure he saw standing near the water's edge in the distance. All Might was there in his true form and bandaged up quite a lot. From looking at his mentor's back, Midoriya could tell he had a sling holding up one of his arms, the man's right hand he guessed, because of how the strap was on the back of his neck.

"You can go to him," Tsukauchi said in a sincere voice. He walked up beside the boy before continuing with, "He's wanted to talk to you since I spoke with him this morning."

"I'll head back to the others then," Ojiro stated as he began a slow walk back into the woods.

After a few deep breaths, Izuku started to walk down the steps towards the beach and broke out into a run once he feet landed on the sand.

* * *

While Midoriya knew talking with All Might was going to be heartfelt, he didn't expect everything was happening at the moment.

Izuku and Tooru were sitting next to one another under a hut at the end of a pier. They were still at Dagobah beach, and she had just arrived minutes ago.

After Izuku had some time with his mentor, the man's phone rang. The conversation seemed to stress him out, but Midoriya couldn't tell as his idol had put some distance between them as he talked. After All Might finished, he asked his pupil to go over to the pier and wait for him. This confused the boy even more, but he did as he was told.

After a couple of minutes, Tooru came into view for Izuku, and she was walking beside Naomasa. The two had an awkward embrace once she arrived and then she sat down next to her boyfriend. The detective told them to wait for All Might to finish his calls and made his way back to the barrier.

After the man had walked far enough, Izuku asked, "Why are you here Tooru? How did you know I was here?"

"I could ask the same for you Izuku," Hagakure said with a bit of sass in her voice. Midoriya groaned a bit at this, but she then said, "Your mom called me wondering if you had gone to see me. I almost called you to ask if everything was alright but then it hit me where you would be. In my mind, you would come here to clear your mind. I mean this is where you trained before coming to UA and it's where I confessed to you. This is your happy place."

Still baffled at his girlfriend being here, Izuku asked another question, "My mom called you?"

"Yeah, remember when I had that alone time to speak to your mom as you showered on our exercise date? One of the things we discussed was watching over you and making sure you stayed safe. We exchanged numbers, and your mom told me that if you were ever in trouble, she would call me. She also said if I were ever struggling and needed advice, she'd be willing to listen," Tooru explained.

While this revelation of his mother comforted Midoriya, he then asked yet another question, "And how did you get past the police guarding this area?"

"I kind of made a scene once I got there. I thought something bad had happened and started to make a fuss. The police weren't being helpful at all until this one officer came up to me and tried to answer my questions. Once I described what you looked like the man left and came back with a detective. And what do you know, it was Ojiro-san's father," the invisible teen explained with shock. She sighed heavily in relief before continuing with, "I mean we've never met before, but Ojiro-san must have told his family about my quirk at some point cause his dad instantly knew who I was. He then calmed me down when he revealed he had just talked to you not long ago. After a long phone call with someone, Ojiro-san then led me to that other detective I remember from the villain invasion. Then he brought me to you."

Izuku could only smirk at this. He was glad Mashirao had been vocal about his friends. But what stirred the older Ojiro to ask to bring Hagakure? And All Might being okay with it all? The former pro hero was currently still on the beach and on the phone. Who was he talking too?

Tooru then spoke up again and said, "So why are you really here, Izuku?"

The boy rubbed the temple of his head as he replied, "I was asked to come." He gulped before continuing with, "By All Might-sensei."

Midoriya felt a hand grab his left hand as Hagakure asked, "That guy on the phone over there is All Might-sensei, right?"

With hesitation in his voice, Izuku responded with, "I-It is."

There was some silence until the invisible girl stated, "I'm still in shock about the news from this morning. I woke up to find both my parents had stayed up most of the night. They had watched the whole thing on TV and recorded it for me since I went to bed right after I called you. I'm still trying to process what they told me and what I eventually saw. I'm just glad Ragdoll-sensei and even firecracker got rescued."

That's right the call, the Midoriya remembered. While he and the rescue team spent their two hour trip on the train towards the Kamino ward in the city Yokohama, his girlfriend had called to check up on him. Again Izuku had to lie he was safe at home when instead he was speeding towards danger. Suddenly he felt a hand upon his left cheek.

Tooru then said, "You've been crying again, haven't you?"

Izuku could only nod at this. When All Might had stated he was retiring from being a hero, he also said he was going to devote himself as much as he could to his pupil's development, despite the condition of his body. As the skeleton of a man embraced Midoriya after saying such words, he bawled liked he hadn't cried for a long time.

The boy then felt Hagakure's hand touch his right cheek and he flinched at it.

"Why is your cheek so swollen here? I don't remember you having this from the hospital," Tooru stated with confusion.

"Sorry, that was me. I punched him not too long ago," All Might said, startling both of them that he had approached with neither of them noticing him.

After a few seconds, the concerned Tooru asked, "And why did you need to hit Izuku?"

The former pro hero glanced at his successor, who had a stressed look on his face. He had punched the boy as he scolded him for trying to rescue Bakugo. But All Might did state he was proud his pupil had remained unharmed, for the first time, despite throwing himself into such a dangerous situation. Izuku wasn't ready to tell his girlfriend of what he did to rescue Katsuki.

The skeleton of a man seemed to understand this, and he took a seat on the floor across from the couple before answering with, "That was for thrashing his body once again during the school trip. Though in retrospect, punishing him by punching him in the face probably wasn't the best idea. But then again in this form, my punches are pretty pathetic, so he should be fine."

Midoriya gave a sigh of relief at his idol's response, but then asked, "So who were you calling earlier?"

"Your parents. Both your parents," Toshinori stated bluntly.

In unison, the couple said, "What!"

With his free left hand, cause the other was in a cast, All Might raised it up defensively as he said, "I was just ensuring they knew you two were safe and with me. It's going to be a long night anyway, so I didn't want both your folks worrying about their child."

Izuku had dreaded what was about to happen. The second he saw Tooru he knew that his mentor was going to reveal everything. It still baffled him why the former pro hero was doing it, but he felt that question could come after the discussion.

Hagakure asked in a worried tone, "Long night? Why are we going to stay here for so long?"

All Might leaned against the railing of the pier as he replied, "Cause it's time Midoriya-san and I be open with you Hagakure-san. I figured this would happen at some point, but your untimely arrival has forced my hand. I don't think turning you away at the police line would have been the best for you. So when I received the call of your presence from the second detective that escorted you here, I knew what I had to do."

Tooru tightened her grip on her boyfriend's hand and then exhaled slowly before stating, "Go ahead then."

A weak grin came from the skeleton of a man's face as he replied, "Good. Now to start off, did you ever wonder about who helped Midoriya-san train during that ten-month period before the entrance exam to your school?"

The invisible girl responded with, "Yeah, he said it was his uncle. Wait. You're his uncle?!

All Might and Izuku both said, "No!"

Tooru was taken aback from their answer, but her boyfriend then said, "It was All Might that helped me, I just said it was my Uncle cause I didn't know how to tell you that I didn't clean this beach alone."

"I knew something was up when you told me that," Hagakure said with a groan. She then turned her attention back to the former pro hero and asked, "But why were you training Izuku of all people? I mean he was quirkless at the time his training started."

All Might clenched his left hand into a fist as he explained, "Cause I had chosen the boy to not only be my successor as the Symbol of Peace but to also inherit my quirk One for All."

The man then went into detail about the day he met Midoriya and was inspired to train him. Then came the explanation of the ten months of training his pupil went through. But the meat of the conversation then turned to One for All. It's origins; it's specifics, and why Izuku was always injuring himself so much. Tooru had questions here and there, and Izuku answered a few when he could, but for the most part, the couple remained silent during the explanation, which took almost an hour to tell.

After All Might finished with detailing his fight against All for One, he stated, "And that's the secret between Midoriya-san and me. As you can tell, this was all very sensitive information and should remain as such. But hopefully, this answered any lingering thoughts you had of your boyfriend's behavior up to till now."

"Oh don't worry, it's helped explain a lot," Hagakure said with sass. Midoriya let out an awkward chuckle at her statement. She then asked another question, "I have to ask though. Why tell me this, I mean besides being his girlfriend. Your explanation as to why earlier seems truthful, but I feel there's more to this."

The girl's statement made the former pro hero laugh for a few seconds before stating, "Am I that easy to read? But to tell the truth, it's because of the impact you've had on the boy. Midoriya-san has grown a lot since I met him in April of last year. And not just in strength, but in character. You are a big reason for that Hagakure-san. Sure I've inspired the boy to think and act like a true hero, but you've helped him grow as a person socially. He's not the weak constituted child I met so many months ago. Now he has a great group of friends and an amazing girlfriend to rely on and work with. And by keeping this secret between just me and him, just isn't fair to you Hagakure-san considering all you've done for him."

After a few moments of silence, Tooru let go of Izuku's hand and stood up, which surprised both the males. She took a few steps forward then plopped to her knees to give All Might a hug. She then stated, "Now I know where Izuku learned to woo a girl like me."

The skeleton of a man smiled at this and brought his left arm across her back. With an index finger from the same arm he then motion Midoriya over. The boy got up and joined the two in the embrace from the left. This surprised Hagakure but then she brought her left arm over to instead bring the boy in closer. Izuku then stated, "Thanks for everything All Might. I couldn't have told her alone."

"Yes. I'm immensely grateful you two were finally open to me about this," Tooru stated with glee.

"No problem kids," the former pro hero said with care. After a couple of moments, however, All Might stated in a wheeze, "While this is nice and all, this affection from you two is actually quite painful for my injuries."

The two teens quickly but carefully removed themselves from the injured man and apologized.

The man then stood up and said, "It's fine. But you know, since we're getting to know each other so well, and seeing as I'm retiring from the pro hero business, you two should know my real name."

Midoriya had been waiting for this moment for some time since his mentor revealed his last name.

After clearing his throat, All Might stated, "It's Yagi. Toshinori Yagi."

* * *

 **Heh, I released a chapter on time for once (first time since thirteen). It's a bit shorter than usual (a little bit shorter than chapter ten, but longer than six and eight) but I feel a decent amount was still covered here.**

 **Merry Christmas (and any other holidays you might celebrate this time of the year) to you all! Enjoy your present!** **But wait it doesn't have to end here! I'm not the only Izuku x Tooru fic to be posted today! Random Useless Info posted this pairing as a one-shot in his fic, called Izuku's Many Holi-Dates. It has holiday-themed one-shots of Izuku with various girls from BNHA. And his first chapter? A Tooru-centric ski trip just before Christmas! So if you want another dose of Midoriya fluffing it up with the invisible heroine, I suggest checking it out. Cause it isn't exactly a common pairing to find. ;p**

 **Speaking of Christmas, my big gift this year was a Amazon Fire HD 8 from my mom. This tablet will be really useful (when connected to a wireless keyboard) as I've been restricted to typing on my shitty work PC to write this fic. This is because my personal PC is connected to place that hasn't had good wifi since August (I blame Hurricane Harvey) and there isn't room at my shared living lodge to move my personal PC. This will greatly improve my options on when to write as I can do it on the go and am not at the mercy of my co-workers having to do work related stuff on the work PC. So woot for that!**

 **If you are wondering why I fleshed out the summary for the Forest Battle but not so much the Rescue Arc it's because the former had some changes from the main canon. Again I felt there was no need to spend too much time on the main manga plot too long as you all know how that song and dance goes by now. Focusing on new content is my strength I feel anyhow.**

 **So you might be wondering, why did I have All Might reveal his and Izuku's secret to Tooru at this point in the story? First reason, it gave me an excuse to use her at this point in the story. Second, with how things are gonna happen going forward, now was a better time for the reveal. Otherwise, another opportunity wouldn't present itself until Midoriya vs. Bakugo round two. That in itself is going to have a significant impact on the couple and having the One for All info dump on top of that would have been a bit much. Thirdly, doing this now sets up for Tooru interacting with Toshinori scenes earlier on than if I had waited. Finally, it got me an opportunity to use Mr. Ojiro again, as it will be a while until he shows up again.**

 **I didn't realize that swapping Tsuyu and Tooru would be such a hassle before the forest battle. First I had to think of a way to have Tsuyu still present for visiting Izuku in the hospital (as having her unconscious as long as the others would make the scene of the first night at the dorms less impactful). Another was replacing her as the one to throw the boys towards Mr. Compress. Koji and Mashirao being the ones to do it seemed like the best fit as he shows the former growing in confidence and the latter just being a bro. The bottom line is that I wanted Tooru out and about so she could have some early interaction with Toga, for future plot shenanigans.**

 **I'm glad that these last two chapters are behind me now. They had a lot of canon plot that, while needed to be addressed, were kind of annoying to write about when I summarize events (minus the changes I added). When covering the four weeks leading to the week before the exams that were skipped in the manga was my favorite part to write about so far, as it was almost entirely original content. So time skips/gaps are great cause I can focus on big ideas and not be constricted by the main plot. Hence why I can't wait for the dorms (starting in chapter eighteen) cause they skip a lot of the in-between time there, plus all the kids are under the same roof, so less time/effort is needed for me to set up scenarios between the characters. In chapter seventeen we will see the aftermath of the U.A. dorm recruitment as well as Izuku's birthday. So a little canon plot at the start and then entirely new stuff the rest of it!**

 **One thing I'm going to miss going forward from here is the lack of a consistent physical reference. The English manga is currently on volume ten, or chapter 89, which ends with All for One and One for All starting their clash. Volume eleven comes out in February which will temporarily put it ahead of me again as by then chapter seventeen will have released and will be current up to chapter 97, but volume eleven ends with chapter 99. From there I think I will stay ahead of the English manga until most likely October, which is volume fifteen's release, which starts the raid of Overhaul's stronghold. I'm going to have a good number of chapters between Izuku meeting Mirio and the raid, so I feel the English manga will pass me again at that point. I'll probably get ahead once more not too long after that cause I'll cover the events of the raid very quickly. It's in the air after that because we still don't know what is going on with the next arc (but gah chapter 164 was pretty amazing, am I right?). In the end, it just feels more convenient to grab the manga sitting at my side for reference versus looking online.**

 **As stated in previous chapters, this is the final chapter to be released on a bi-weekly schedule. From here on out it will be monthly. I won't list the reasons why again here. If you do want to see, then check the author notes for chapter fourteen. These releases will always be at the first of the month. So look forward to a new year of Cubicity with a new chapter on February 1st!**


	17. Cooling Off

Chapter 17: Cooling Off

A mixture of anger and happiness.

That is what Izuku was feeling at the moment.

It was late Sunday morning, and the boy was making his way towards Tooru's house.

Midoriya needed some space from home, from his mom. Yes, it was a bit drastic for him to show up at his girlfriend's house unannounced but it was important. This emotion of displeasure he was having, he couldn't remember the last time this feeling directed at his mother. Not only did this involve Izuku's future as a hero, but also his relationship with Tooru. Both were almost brought to a halt, and this is what was bothering him so much.

Yesterday, U.A.'s principal had sent out an automated phone call and emailed all the parents of his school. Because of the recent problems with security for the students, as well as All Might's retirement, the school was making a drastic change towards being a boarding school. They were also told to expect a visit from their teachers the following day to go over the specifics and get written consent from their parents.

Izuku supported the idea, even if that meant he would be away from his mother for a while. It took some convincing, but eventually, Inko was okay with the idea. The younger Midoriya was, at first, afraid of not getting permission to go. His mom had made that clear from his phone call with her when he was still at the hospital.

 _...Izuku._

 _Do you really...have to go back to U.A.?_

At the time, her statement really shook Izuku. He put off her statement because at the time he was more concerned about rescuing Katsuki. But when the boy read the email with his mother, he knew he would need to fight this. Midoriya felt that arguing that being separated from Hagakure would strain their relationship is what finally won her over. But in the end, it didn't matter come the next day.

Izuku didn't want to recall what had just happened earlier, as he was now standing in front of Tooru's home. He made his way up to the door and knocked a few times. The boy was surprised to see his girlfriend's mother answer the door. She looked just as confused as Midoriya did. Maintaining this look, she said, "Morning Midoriya-san, what brings you here?"

The green haired boy was quick to state, "Sorry for showing up without notice but have any U.A. teachers come by yet?"

"Yes, your homeroom teacher left not long ago," Hagakure said while opening the door more.

Izuku sighed in relief before saying, "Oh good. You don't mind if I speak to your daughter, do you? It's kind of important."

"I'm afraid you just missed her. Tooru and my husband left a few minutes ago to go jogging," the woman replied.

Midoriya found it odd that his girlfriend would be able to drag her dad out to exercise but he shook the thought out of his head to ask, "Do you mind if I stay around until they get back?"

The mother nodded as she said, "Of course, do come in." She led the boy to the dining room and motioned for him to take a seat. Hagakure then took a seat opposite of him and had a glass of some drink by her side. She cleared her throat and then asked, "This importance to talk to my daughter wouldn't have to do with the whole U.A. dorm fiasco, would it?"

Izuku was hoping just to wait until Tooru got back, but with her mother being this upfront about it, and because he had no idea how long it would be until she came back, he felt couldn't just say no. "Yes, ma'am. I'm hoping you and your husband were okay with it?"

The red-headed women grabbed her drink and gave it a sip before responding with, "Somewhat. My husband as always is okay with whatever Tooru wants. I had a different opinion of course." As she spoke, Midoriya could smell alcohol from her direction. He thought, what was she drinking? Hagakure noticed the change in the boy's face and stated, "Oh, don't give me that look. It's just a little wine child; today has been a tough day for me."

Bringing up his hands defensively, Izuku said, "It's fine Hagakure-san. It's your house; you can drink whatever you feel like." He then thought for a few moments before continuing by saying, "My mom usually drinks tea to calm her nerves, I figure this is how you deal with stress."

The mother smirked as she stated, "So now you're saying I'm an alcoholic?"

Midoriya quickly tried to argue, "W-What no. I-I was t-trying-."

Hagakure interrupted the boy by stating, "I'm only joking, I know what you mean." She then gave off a hearty chuckle.

She's more relaxed than last time I was here, Izuku thought. Could this be because of the wine?

The woman then said, "To answer your question in full though, Midoriya-san, I was somewhat opposed to this change. I mean I do agree with turning U.A. into a boarding school, considering everything that has happened as late, but I'm gonna miss my baby girl growing up. I got to see Tooru change, mostly for the better, at her last school. And in the few months at U.A., I've seen her grow into a young woman, though I have to thank you for that somewhat Midoriya-san."

Izuku blushed at her last statement but then mulled over everything else she said. The changes at her last school must be the personality change his girlfriend had mentioned the first time she sneaked into the nurse's office. The key though that got Midoriya thinking was his girlfriend's mother saying 'mostly for the better.' Did that mean there was something that the older Hagakure didn't like about her daughter's change in personality? The boy was tempted to ask about it but felt maybe this wasn't the best time, and instead thought about her sadness to miss out seeing Tooru's growth first hand. It was such a different reason than why his mother was against him living at school. And it brought back memories of earlier this morning.

To Izuku's surprise, All Might showed up alone this morning. He had expected just Eraserhead, and his presence inside their home made both Midoriyas quite rattled. It wasn't long however till Inko announced being against her son going to the dorms. She stated that after thinking about it more last night, that she had changed her mind. The older Midoriya just couldn't support a school that was having such issues with their students getting attacked by villains. There were other schools he could attend, she argued, which her son almost agreed to, but the issue came back to Tooru and All Might. Not going to the same school as his girlfriend and his mentor would be hard, especially since both were going to be living there. Izuku knew he had to keep quiet about his connection to All Might and instead called out Inko by saying that this would make being with his girlfriend difficult. She argued that he could still spend time with her on the weekends. All Might tried to offer support and stated that to take advantage of the students living on school grounds school days would be extended to six days, which meant they would only have Sunday off. The older Midoriya still stated that her point still could work.

Before Izuku could protest anymore, Yagi intervened. Bowing down on the floor in what few precious seconds he could in maintaining his muscle form, he first stated that he saw the younger Midoriya as his successor as the Symbol of Peace. As All Might reverted to his true form, he apologized for U.A.'s failure to protect their student's and for installing the drive in his student to go against the advice and rules of his teachers. He felt he was neglecting Izuku by not being there every step of the way. The skeleton of a man asked Inko the opportunity for him and the faculty the chance to change U.A. into a safer school, to be with his successor every step of the way from now on, and the guarantee that he would personally lay down his life if need be to protect her son. He then gave a few coughs before continuing by saying that the younger Midoriya's relationship with Hagakure was another thing to consider. Yagi stated that he felt that she was only a positive influence to his student and he saw no reason to threaten such a thing.

Inko had then sat down on the floor for a few moments thinking about everything that had been said. Eventually, she rejected the proposal on the mere fact that All Might was willing to sacrifice his life. The woman knew her son lived for his idol and it would crush him to see the former pro hero die. The older Midoriya asked that if the former pro hero did everything else but strove to stay alive, she would accept her son going back to the hero academy. Yagi accepted immediately, and the debate was ended.

In a concerned voice, Mrs. Hagakure asked, "Midoriya-san is everything alright? You're awfully quiet."

"S-Sorry, I was just comparing your reasons against the proposed changes to my mom's in my head," Midoriya stated after collecting his thoughts for a moment.

The woman's voice changed to shock before asking, "Wait did she not give you permission to go?"

Izuku sighed before answering with, "She put up a lot of resistance, but All Might-sensei was able to convince her otherwise." The boy then recounted what had happened earlier in the morning. As he explained, the woman got up to get more wine, but she continued to listen diligently.

By the time Midoriya was done she had finished her drink once more. Instead of getting more, Hagakure asked, "So why are you here again Midoriya-san?"

The question baffled the boy, but he replied, "I just felt I needed some time away from my mom. And I thought Tooru should know what happened. I mean our relationship could have radically changed for the worse if my All Might-sensei didn't convince my mother."

The red-headed women rubbed her temple and sighed before saying, "So you're upset with your mom and you wanted to pout about it to my daughter."

"Hagakure-san I-," Izuku tried to say.

However, he was interrupted by, "Isn't your birthday tomorrow? You and Tooru are gonna have the whole day together. Talk about it then. What you should do is go back home and sort this out with your mother." She then got up and turned around to put her glass in the sink.

Midoriya stood up as well and said, "I want tomorrow to be nothing but a positive day for both of us. I didn't want to drag it down with my problems back at home."

Tooru's mother made somewhat of a pouty face. The boy guessed she could see the logic he was saying but didn't want to admit it. "Okay then smarty-pants, then why not let me tell my daughter about your visit today and why you're here. I bet she'll call you about it later today and you can resolve it then," Hagakure argued. She then crossed her arms as she asked, "Did you talk to your mother at all about this before coming here?"

Izuku just shook his head. He had followed All Might outside to chat a bit after his mother had finished the paperwork. After the former pro hero left, the boy immediately asked Inko if he could go to Tooru's house, under the guise that he wanted to see if she had gotten permission to go. His mother was okay with it; she just wanted him back before dinner. Even though the younger Midoriya expected his girlfriend's mother to not be entirely behind the idea, he trusted that she would eventually say yes. And his suspicions proved right.

Hagakure exhaled loudly before stating, "Jeez. Kids these days just need to talk with their parents if they're upset about something. I got enough dealing with that mess with Tooru in the past. I don't want your mother having to go through that too, so promise me you'll talk to her when you get back home?"

"Yes ma'am, I promise," Midoriya replied.

Izuku thanked the woman for the advice and then left. The walk back to the train station felt awkward to him. Why hadn't he just talked to his mom about this? Was it because, for the first time in a long while, he was upset with her over something? Izuku really couldn't remember the last time he got angry with her, and for a good reason. She was a fantastic parent, he felt. But with that thought in the boy's head, then why didn't he just sit down with her and talk about it? Was it because her defiance to say yes had threatened his dream to be a hero? Was it because of the possibility to weaken his relationship with Tooru? Or was it both?

These thoughts lingered as Midoriya got onto the train that would take him home. As it sped forward, he recalled even further back, to his sleepover at Ida's house, specifically when Izuku advised Tenya about Ochako.

 _You know, we're still teenagers Ida-kun_ _. Our lives aren't over if we end up having to break-up with the ones we love. And as much as it pains me to admit that, considering that I just got a girlfriend, it's just a part of growing up._

Should this apply here? And thinking about it for a few minutes, Midoriya decided no it didn't. This was something he didn't have control over, so of course, he wanted to fight it. The boy's advice to his friend concerned if Ida's and Uraraka's dream to be pro heroes. Would their work get in the way of them being together? Of course, and at some point, it would apply to himself and Hagakure as well. It was inevitable. But it was something Izuku felt it was something you had some control of. Your parent dictating if you should pursue your goal in life sure is something you can't control, at least at his current age, he mused. Midoriya initially thought he did convince his mother to go along with the change to his school, only for her to change her mind the next day. If it hadn't been for the former number one hero in Japan's efforts, he probably wouldn't be going back to U.A.

As the train approached the station near his house, Midoriya tried to think of better thoughts to try to stave off all the negatives emotions he had been having. Now that he thought about it, All Might had fulfilled a promise that the boy had given to his girlfriend without even asking. He wanted to have more one on one training with his mentor, and the man had vowed he would when speaking to his mother. The concept did excite Izuku, even if it meant he couldn't spar with the former pro hero because of his sorry state of All for One. But it was definitely an improvement over the offhand approach, besides his final exam, his teacher had been doing since he finished his training before coming to school. The arrangement would at least ease Tooru's concern about her boyfriend's quirk constantly doing damage to his body.

Another thing to look forward to was his birthday tomorrow. A day with his girlfriend should cheer him up, Midoriya thought. The thought of her in a swimsuit didn't seem to bother him that much, which surprised him. Izuku kept thinking back to Tooru's birthday, as he waited for her to choose a swimsuit. It's just floating clothing; it's just floating clothing, he kept telling himself. When the boy thought it this way, it kept him mostly calm, and he hoped it would persist tomorrow when he saw the real deal. Besides that obstacle, he figured the rest of the day would be manageable. Speaking of tomorrow, he didn't have a plan for it. With everything that had happened lately, Midoriya didn't have the time or energy to think about. Perhaps during his plan to call Hagakure tonight, the two could discuss the details of his birthday.

But first, there was the matter of talking to his mom.

Izuku got off the train and started to walk back home slowly. He went over possible ways to start and proceeded with the conversation with his mother, and after what felt like forever, he arrived at his house. Midoriya opened the door and walked into his living room to find his parent sitting down eating lunch, a simple sandwich it looked like.

"Izuku, what are you doing back so early? I didn't expect you to come back for a few more hours," Inko said as she laid down her food on the coffee table in front of her.

The younger Midoriya responded with, "Tooru was out jogging with her dad, so I talked with her mom instead." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Mom, can we talk about what happened this morning?"

The short woman shoulders sagged, and she looked down at her sandwich with a frown. A few seconds passed before she asked,"Will you give me some time to make some tea?"

Izuku gave a nod, and his mother got up and walked to the kitchen. He then took a seat on the couch and mentally prepared for what was going to happen next. A few minutes passed before the boy saw his mom return with some tea. It smelled of honey, so he guessed it was green tea she was drinking. Inko preferred white tea or green tea. When she drank the former, it was usually plain or with milk, but with the latter, she would add either honey or mint to the drink.

After taking a seat and having a sip of her tea, the mother said, "So, what part in particular about this morning do you wanna talk about?"

"I just want to tell you how I'm feeling about it is all. I just need to get this off my chest," the younger Midoriya stated as he leaned back on the couch.

"I'm listening Izuku," the woman said hesitantly.

Izuku then explained slowly, "I can't help but feel angry that I almost had my dream to be a pro hero come to a halt. And then also complicate things between me and Tooru. I wanna be mad, but I also can understand why you did this mom. It's just you and me right now. You are afraid if I continue on this path you'll lose me. But I don't want to abandon this chance to fulfill my dream, and I don't want to hinder what me and Tooru have potentially."

Inko gave her son a somber look, and she took another drink of tea before replying with, "It's like what I told you before Izuku. I just want you to be happy. And you getting injured by your quirk due to poor guidance or from villains because of lackluster security threatened that. It's why I suggested you attending another school. At least at a different hero academy with less notoriety, the chances of it being attacked are much lower. Yes, I was worried about you losing your life, but I was equally scared you would become so injured you couldn't be a pro hero or worse, a normal life." She breathed in and out heavily before continuing, "I do need to apologize though. I didn't want to come between you and your girlfriend, but I didn't have a choice. I'm s-sorry I had to do t-that."

Tears were starting to form in the short woman's eyes, and her son was quick to grab her right hand with both of his. He then said, "Like I said, mom, I understand why you did it. But you changed your mind and didn't tell me before All Might-sensei showed up. Why?"

"Cause I t-thought I would have a b-better chance if I d-didn't," Inko answered ashamedly.

Izuku sighed after hearing that statement. His mother was quite desperate to say no. He then stated, "Mom, if you were having second thoughts then you should have told me."

"I-I know, and I'm s-sorry," the short woman said as she wiped away a few rogue tears.

Trying to cheer her up, the younger Midoriya asked, "Is there anything else I can do to help you feel better about this?"

After drinking more tea to calm down, the older Midoriya stated, "I want you to call me every week. Tell me what's happening and be truthful. If you can do that, it would greatly calm my nerves. Not knowing what's going on cause you won't be around will bother me to no end."

Izuku was quick to reply, "Sure thing mom." Then an idea popped into his head and he continued with, "We can even make it a video chat if you want."

"I'd like that. That way I can tell you aren't getting yourself too injured," Inko stated while wiping her eyes.

That was what the younger Midoriya was hoping for. It did mean he needed to double down on his training once he went back to school. But All Might had promised to work with him one on one the other day. He was bound to improve faster than ever before by being with his mentor in one on one lessons, right?

The boy was then startled by his mother suddenly standing up. "You must be hungry; it's well past noon at this point. Do you want me to make you something?"

Izuku sighed and replied, "I'd love that."

* * *

Midoriya was laying on his bed. The sun was just starting to disappear over the horizon. After eating lunch, he came back to his room and took a nap. Just minutes ago, Izuku woke up. He was starting to worry. The boy pondered, did Tooru's mom even say that he had come by her house? His girlfriend would have called by now if so. Midoriya figured she wouldn't call right away to allow him time to talk things over with his mother. He fell asleep with his phone next to him to make sure not to miss Hagakure's call.

Izuku couldn't focus on anything else, and it was driving him up the wall. He started pacing around his room trying to construct possible ideas as to why Tooru hadn't called. One thought did stand out though to Midoriya. Did she just want to wait until tomorrow to talk about it? But they still hadn't discussed the specifics about his birthday. At the very least if his girlfriend didn't want to talk about it till later then he should call her to set up what to do about the trip to the beach. But what if he called her and there was no sign that she knew about what happened today? That would be awkward for both of them, Izuku thought.

Just as the thought of getting a glass of water to calm his nerves came into the boy's mind, his phone began to ring. In a panicked rush, he pulled it from his pocket, almost dropping it as he fumbled it through his hands for few seconds. After regaining control of the device and his nerves, Midoriya answered the call, "Hello Tooru."

"Evening Izuku! Sorry for calling late. I had some stuff to take care of concerning your birthday tomorrow," the Hagakure apologized.

Izuku sighed in relief. It looks like she already has everything planned out it seems, he thought. The boy then responded, "It's fine. Thanks for going through the trouble to set this all up for me."

Tooru replied back with, "Well everything has been ridiculous these last few weeks. Especially with what happened this morning. So I thought I would just take care of it myself so we can focus on cheering you up tomorrow."

So Mrs. Hagakure did keep her promise, the boy thought as he sat down on his bed. He then stated, "Yeah it's been a hectic day alright."

There was a bit of a pause before he heard his girlfriend ask, "So did you and your mom set things straight?"

"Kind of," Midoriya said slowly. He heard a soft grunt from her and then quickly added, "I mean she still isn't one hundred percent okay with everything that's gonna be happening but at least I learned more as to why she changed her mind." His previous answer didn't tell much, and he guessed Hagakure didn't like it.

He then heard Tooru ask, "So you two are cool now?"

"Better than before I left for your place," Izuku stated as he laid his back on his bed. He then continued, "I promised her I would call her weekly and give all the details of what's happening. I even suggested doing video chat to show that I won't get too beat up."

His girlfriend then cheerfully said, "Oh that's a wonderful idea. That should help get her through this time apart from you."

Midoriya then thought back to earlier in the day. Her mother was also quite upset to see her daughter leave. Maybe there was a way to make this idea even better, the boy pondered. Trying to ease the girl into the concept, he asked, "Hey Tooru, how did your mom handle the meeting when Aizawa-sensei?"

"She didn't do much. Just asked a few questions here and there and had this pouty looking face the whole time. I was expecting her to raise hell about it, but it never came, which was odd. Why do you ask? I mean you talked to her for a bit this morning," Hagakure explained.

Izuku inhaled and exhaled loudly before answering with, "Your mom said she's gonna miss seeing you grow up."

A few seconds of silence passed before Tooru said, "You sure she said that? She has a weird way of showing it if so."

Izuku then argued, "Perhaps, but it's what I heard from her lips." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Maybe she would benefit to receive a call from you every once in a while at school?"

"What, like you are doing with your mother? Sounds like a lot of work," Hagakure stated in an annoyed tone.

Midoriya closed his eyes as he asked, "Would it be easier if I was with you during these calls?"

Hagakure responded quickly with, "Wait wait wait. Like in the same room or something?"

"Well, I meant more doing a video chat. But yeah," Izuku answered with confidence as he opened his eyes again.

A few seconds asked before Tooru asked with care, "What spurred this idea?"

The boy thought a moment before replying with, "I just felt bad for your mom, I guess. I mean it's pretty apparent you two have a somewhat strained relationship. Maybe this way you could mend that bond but also spend time with me if that's alright."

He heard his girlfriend sigh before saying, "Well you're not wrong about me and my mother not getting along about everything. Anyways, you sure about this?"

Midoriya cheerfully stated, "Totally!"

"Well if you're willing to go so far for me, it only makes sense I should do the same," Hagakure replied back.

Izuku asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'm suggesting that I join in with your video chats with your mom as well. That way I can be sure you don't try and skirt around whatever trouble you get yourself into next term," Tooru explained in a teasing voice.

After a few seconds to think the idea over, Midoriya said, "That's a fantastic idea Tooru! We could even do them at the same time. That way our parents can get to know each other as well."

"Well, I don't know if my dad will want to do it each week, you know how he is," Hagakure stated.

The subject of her dad made Izuku ask, "Speaking of which, you and your dad jog together? He doesn't seem like the type to want to do such things."

His girlfriend was quick to say, "Oh, he doesn't, not anymore at least."

The perplexed boy asked, "And why is that?"

There was a pause before Tooru answered with, "Well, remember when I told you about me slowing losing friends as the wow factor of my quirk wore off?"

"I do," Midoriya replied. How could he forget? It was their first big talk to one another. Plus she had skipped class to check on him that day.

Hagakure then explained, "Well for a while I got depressed about it, and I started to put on weight. I lost my drive to want to be active and eating a lot was just one way I dealt with not being popular anymore. I mean it was easy to hide at first that I was putting on pounds cause of my quirk and all. But once my clothes started not fitting anymore my mom was quick to notice that it wasn't because of growing up, it was growing out."

As his girlfriend spoke, Izuku was surprised to hear about her being overweight in the past. She seemed quite in shape now judging from her speed, which must have been also attributed to working with her trainer every Wednesday to get where she is now, he thought.

Tooru continued with, "I didn't want to do any of the diet suggestions by my mom suggested, so my dad offered to exercise with me. It took a few months but eventually, I got back to my regular figure. At around that time was when I wanted to try heroics out. So my parents looked and found a trainer for me to get in shape for going to a hero academy. My father still runs with me more because he just wants to spend time with me. We do chat a lot during our breaks, as he needs a lot of them."

"It's nice to hear you at least get along with your dad well," Midoriya stated.

Hagakure sighed before she said, "I mean, me and my mom mostly get along it's just sometimes she's too nosy and it can be very annoying."

"She's just concerned for your well being is all," her boyfriend tried to argue.

Tooru responded with, "I guess. Anyways, enough about her, we should focus on your birthday." Izuku heard her clear her throat on the phone before she said, "Be at Dagobah Beach by noon. We're gonna have lunch there so don't eat anything before you arrive. Also, I have a big surprise for you at the start."

Izuku grabbed his chest with his free hand and asked, "This isn't about your s-swimsuit is it?"

Hagakure giggled before replying, "No, silly. I didn't choose anything risque. You should know by now that's not how I operate. Anyways I'm sure you'll enjoy it when you see it tomorrow."

Midoriya could only sigh in response as he thought, why did he say that? Not only was Tooru right but earlier he was telling himself not to be worried about seeing his girlfriend in such clothing. But looking back, the last two surprises from her did involve clothing. The first was the cheerleader outfit, and the second being her hero suit. So if it wasn't about Hagakure's swimsuit, what could it be? Izuku then nervously answered with, "Well I guess I'll just have to w-wait and f-find out."

"Trust me Izuku you're gonna love it," his girlfriend stated with glee.

* * *

Izuku was staring out the window of a train to view the sunny mid-July day.

It was particularly hot today, even for the summer, so it was a perfect time to go swimming at the beach. But it couldn't distract Midoriya from a heavy subject that had weighed upon his mind ever since coming back from recusing Katsuki. Having to tell Tooru what he did. Not only was it an extremely dangerous thing to do but the boy also did it for the person that was the primary source of his stress growing up, besides being quirkless. Both of these would no doubt would make Hagakure furious with him. Izuku felt he needed to confront her about this at some point, but today couldn't be that day. It's as he told his girlfriend's mom the day prior:

 _...I want tomorrow to be nothing but a positive day for both of us._

Bringing up Bakugo's rescue today would just complicate things. Plus Midoriya didn't want to come off as using the celebration of his birthday as an excuse for Hagakure to forgive him. It would have to happen in the following weeks before going back to school. But that was for later, Izuku wanted to focus on the now.

And currently, he was looking at Tooru just outside his window. The train had just come to a stop seconds ago, as he got up, he noticed her. She technically never did mention meeting at the beach itself. Midoriya got off the train only to be tackle hugged by his girlfriend, as she said, "Happy Birthday, Izuku!"

Luckily Izuku guessed she would do this and didn't topple over from it as he was prepared. He spun her once to counteract the weight and brought her into a hug himself. The display seemed to grab the attention of those passing by. Midoriya then let her down and grabbed below one of her bracelets to find her right hand. While he led Hagakure outside, he said, "I didn't expect you to meet me at the station."

"Just wanted to discuss some things before we get there is all," Tooru replied.

A bit puzzled at this; Izuku asked, "Like what exactly?"

Hagakure answered with, "Well for one your arms. You gonna be okay to swim today?"

Midoriya looked down at the arm holding his girlfriend's non-visible hand. This and the other were still bandaged up. He explained with, "I was able to figure out the number and called the doctor on Friday that took care of me at the hospital. I asked if it would be okay if I swam in salt water for today and he said as long as I kept my bandages on until that point and felt no pain while in the water I should be good."

The invisible girl was quick to ask, "Have you been able to see your scars?"

Izuku's stomach dropped at the comment. He took a deep breath before replying with, "I change my bandages every morning, so yeah I've seen the damage."

Tooru asked another question slowly with, "How bad is it?"

Midoriya stopped walking and let go of her arm. He then used his left arm to point as he explained, "I have small scars on opposite sides close to my wrist. Then I have a long mark between my biceps and triceps on the side facing towards my armpit. And finally, there's a large burn opposite of that. I'm lucky my left arm received no scars."

"Well I guess I'll see it first hand after we eat," his girlfriend said as he felt her poking his right arm.

The thought of being shirtless again in front of Tooru gave Izuku pause for a second, but he was quick to grab below the wristband above his arm and to lead them both forward again. To change his train thought away from that subject he asked, "So what are we gonna do about lunch?" Midoriya noticed that Hagakure was wearing a much smaller backpack than their last date in town. She wouldn't be able to fit two meals and her swimsuit in it.

Tooru replied in a mischievous tone, "You'll see. Just wait till we get there okay?"

Izuku sighed in defeat but then turned the conversation towards their plans for the rest of the summer. He was disappointed to hear that Tooru was going to South Korea for a trip with her family the next two weeks starting on Friday. Apparently, it was something her parents wanted to surprise her with once she got back from her summer school training. They wanted to celebrate the fact that they're daughter was in the top hero academy in the country and had passed her first term there. Midoriya was happy for her, but this would put off him revealing what he had done last week even more. He then detailed his plan to slowly integrate exercise back into his daily routine to prepare himself for the next term. Izuku's idea seemed to please his girlfriend, but she made sure to tell him to continue to rest the next two weeks and not to push himself too hard when swimming today.

At this point, the two made had made their way to the wooded area before the beach. Tooru then out of the blue said, "So about your surprise." Her boyfriend gulped at the two continued to walk. She continued by saying, "I know that Yagi-sensei retiring has been a huge bummer for you as of late, but with everything that happened yesterday as well I thought just the two of us celebrating your birthday wouldn't be enough to cheer you up."

Midoriya was quick to get what she meant and responded with, "So you invited one of our friends. Ojiro-kun? Or was it Ida-kun?"

Hagakure slowly answered while the two began walking out of the woods, "Nah, all of them of course!"

And just at that moment they both then heard a voice to their right. "Hagakure-san, Midoriya-kun, we're over here!"

It was Tenya. He was standing over a barbecue pit with Ochako at his side. Momo was opposite of them both and Mashirao was sitting down on a bench nearby. Once the couple walked over, Izuku asked, "When did Tooru ask you guys to come?"

Uraraka replied, "Yesterday afternoon. She told us about how depressed you were feeling lately and suggested we all come to cheer you up today. I hope you don't see us as being in the way of you two celebrating your birthday alone with Hagakure-chan."

Midoriya shook his head as he stated, "It's okay, I think this is a wonderful idea." He then turned to give a quick hug and thanked his girlfriend. Izuku then thought, setting this whole thing up must be what Tooru mentioned as the reason why she called him late last night. With all his friends around it would make the day more relaxed, than if he was alone with Hagakure. The only problem would be the increased number of girls in swimsuits. But the two other girls were just his friends, so a minor issue at best.

Tooru then asked, "So you are cooking us lunch today Ida-san? I thought I asked Uraraka-chan to do that."

"I can explain," Ochako stated in response. She continued by saying, "I've been teaching Tenya to cook for a while now, and I thought this would be a good test for him. I'm just next to him to make sure he doesn't screw this up."

"I'll try and not disappoint you Hagakure-san," Ida stated with a fist pump.

Uraraka cleared her throat and said bluntly, "Well you are if you don't flip those two patties on your left soon, they look about ready."

Tenya proceeded to do as told and responded with, "Yes ma'am."

Momo giggled at this which got Izuku to ask her, "Are you helping Ida-san as well Yaoyorozu-san?"

The tall girl shook her head as she stated, "No, I'm just interested to see how one cooks. I've never really cooked before besides making tea and pastries, and Sakurai-san gets a bit too into cooking for me to understand what's going on. So I'm just here to observe."

Izuku then felt a tug on his arm and looked at Tooru. She asked, "Hey why don't you see why Ojiro-san is all alone on the bench over there? I'll stay here and chat with the others, okay?"

Midoriya nodded and made his way over to his tailed friend. As he sat down, Ojiro stated, "Happy birthday dude, uh, you sure you're gonna be okay to swim today?"

Izuku rubbed his right arm as he explained, "The doctor said I should be fine. I just needed to keep this wrapped up until it's time to swim."

Mashirao gave a short grunt of approval before returning his gaze to their group of friends standing around the barbeque pit.

Izuku cleared his throat before asking, "So any reason why you're over here by yourself?"

The tailed teen crossed his arms as he stated, "I don't know man. Things have just been weird lately."

Izuku had a good guess to what but played along by asking, "Is everything okay?"

Ojiro shrugged before answering with, "I mean, I guess so. I'm just confused about a few things."

Midoriya asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Might as well," Mashirao said with a sigh. He then continued with, "I guess to start, do you remember back when Yaoyorozu-san invited me to study with her?"

So he did notice, Izuku thought. He then said, "Hard to forget, her offer did come out of nowhere."

"Right? I can't tell if she was hinting at something or if its just her being nice to me," Ojiro said with a pout. He then continued by saying, "I almost want to ask her if she's interested in me but that would backfire badly I think if she's not."

Trying his luck, Midoriya asked, "Are you interested in her?"

The question caught his tailed friend off guard as he flinched and gave slight blush. He then said in a low voice, "I mean she is very attractive and now that I've gotten to know her better she seems like a good person. But I mean why would she be interested in me? She can probably do better than whatever she sees in me."

"Hey don't sell yourself short Mashirao. Your quirk is strong and versatile, you got a good head on your shoulders, and you have a noble moral code. Mashirao Ojiro is most definitely in the upper half of our class, in the best hero academy in Japan," Midoriya said to try and cheer his friend up.

Mashirao smirked before replying, "I appreciate it Izuku but I'm not exactly a looker and my background would never sit well with her mom I feel. And besides, I haven't even considered trying to date someone at this point my life. Even though it seems everyone around me seems to be doing just that."

Izuku pondered on what to say for a few seconds asking, "Yaoyorozu-san hasn't acted any different with you since that day has she?"

Ojiro leaned back and looked upward and remained silent for a while as he thought. He eventually answered with, "Yaoyorozu-san did approach me the day we got our final exam results. She thanked me for asking to have us do something involving the practical during one of our study sessions. Apparently, it helped boost her confidence in that portion of the exam. Otherwise, normal as usual."

These statements intrigued Midoriya. The vice president's match was already done by the time he was watching the matches with Recovery Girl. Izuku only knew that Shoto was Momo's partner and that the practitioner for it was Eraserhead. But beyond that, he knew nothing else.

Izuku then stated, "Well if I were you, I'd wait and see how your first study session with her alone goes. Maybe things will be more clear during that?"

"That sounds good and all, but the wait is gonna be annoying," Mashirao said in a groan with the last sentence.

After a few seconds of silence, Midoriya then asked, "So, what was the other thing that was bothering you Mashirao?"

"Monoma," the tailed teen stated bluntly.

Oh right, Midoriya thought. Just before they were thrown off the cliff and attacked by Pixie Bob's quirk during the school summer trip, something happened. Both classes got off the bus, thinking it was a break to stretch and move around a bit before finishing the final leg of the drive towards their lodgings. As class 1A and 1B mingled, Monoma and Ojiro approached one another. The exchange was tense but brief.

 _Glad to see you're here Ojiro-san. Wouldn't have wanted you to miss out coming here._

 _What's that so supposed to mean Monoma?_

 _Still no honorific? Oh well. I won't hold that against you this time. Anywho, I meant it would have been a waste if either of us didn't come to this._

 _I'm still clueless about what your point is. Are you trying to pick a fight with me again?_

 _Oh come now, us being enemies isn't going to solve anything anymore. But we can still be rivals. And if either of us wasn't here for this trip, well it would be that much more boring._

At that point Pixie Bob then carried the students off the cliff into the forest below, ending the exchange.

"You were next to me when Monoma was talking to me. I still can't make sense of it," Mashirao stated with confusion. He then asked, "Can you?"

The meaning of Neito's words did seem odd in their purpose, Izuku pondered. After thinking for a minute he responded with, "It almost feels like he doesn't hate you anymore going with how he saw you as a rival. But it feels odd that he would just drop that hatred so quickly considering your past with him."

Mashirao exhaled loudly before stating, "You know, he failed the practical portion of the final exam."

Midoriya then asked, "He did? How did you find out?"

"Sato-san told me. Monoma was there when the others went to the remedial classes with Aizawa-sensei. That guy is too smart to have bombed the written exam, so it makes sense it was the practical portion," Ojiro explained.

Izuku crossed his arms as he said, "He sure didn't act as if he had failed."

Mashirao nodded before stating, "Yeah. He seemed fine, almost too calm if you ask me."

Izuku sighed, "I guess that's another thing we won't know more about till we are back in school, huh?"

Ojiro then stood up and stated, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry about worrying you over my problems. It's your birthday so let's focus on that." He then turned to his seated friend and pointed a thumb towards the grill before saying, "Looks like our food is ready, so let's join the others."

Izuku didn't want to push it further and got up to follow him. Just as his tailed friend had just stated, lunch was about ready. Everyone but Tenya and Ochako, since they were finishing up the food, helped set out everything at a nearby picnic table. They laid out a tablecloth, plates, cups, buns, and condiments before their lunch arrived. Sure it was merely burgers, but it was made by his friends, and that's all the birthday boy could ask for.

As lunch progressed the topic for discussion was what everyone's quirk enhancement training was during the school training camp. They had no time to talk to each other between training as it was used either to eat or sleep as it ran everyone ragged.

Hagakure volunteered to speak first and explained her training with Ragdoll just as she had told her boyfriend during their first dishwashing session.

Midoriya was next and detailed his sparring matches and odd stretching exercises with Tiger.

Uraraka stated that she used her quirk until she was queasy but kept activating it afterward to try and get used to suppressing her gag reflex and strengthening her inner ear canals. In the end, it seemed to work, as she was able to lift more weight than she ever could before.

Tenya said he only ran around the camp using his quirk until he couldn't anymore. He said his legs were still a bit sore from it.

Momo mentioned her, and Rikido Sato's training involved eating to activate their quirks continuously. Sato would lift weights, and Yaoyorozu continually made objects to test their endurance. At first, she made complex objects, but by the end of the day, she struggled even to create simple shapes. Momo felt that after the training she could make complex objects much quicker and didn't need to think as hard to do it.

Mashirao mentioned working with Ejiro Kirishima during his training. The two would take turns taking blows from one another with their quirks. Even Ojiro admitted, at least defensively, that the vigor hero was much stronger than he was.

Once lunch was over the teens cleaned the mess they had made. They then made their way down the stairs to the beach, which was quite crowded today. Far on the right side of it, there was a building with bathrooms and a few showers. The group went to their respective sides once and changed into their bathing suits.

Midoriya was getting a bit nervous while he got into his swim trunks and took off the bandages on his arms. His clothing was simple; it was dark green with two black stripes on either side. Izuku observed that Tenya had on dark blue swim trunks and Mashirao was in bright yellow swimwear. What surprised him was seeing his tall friend with no glasses on. Ida explained that he occasionally wore contacts from time to time, but he much preferred his looks with glasses.

The boys walked out of the bathroom, but the girls were not out yet. As they waited, Midoriya noticed his two friends were catching glances at his right arm with concern on their faces. The boys had changed plenty of times together in the locker room and already knew of the previous ones on his right hand. The new ones stuck out like a sore thumb because of this.

Ojiro then asked, "Does it still hurt?"

Izuku sighed before answering with, "Sometimes, but it only lasts a few moments if it does."

His friend's faces then flipped from worry to shock. Tenya then stated nervously, "You ready to s-swim ladies?"

Midoriya took a deep breath and then turned around. His eyes quickly darted to his girlfriend.

Hagakure was wearing a light blue one piece, which surprised and comforted her boyfriend. It had white frills, two on her chest and three at her waist. She also was wearing a swim cap and snap bracelets that were white.

Uraraka had a deep blush and was wearing a bikini with a sarong around her waist that covered most of her bottom swimwear and part of her right leg. Her bathing suit had a busy design of circles within circles, and each ring had a solid color of either yellow, bright orange, or lime green. The sarong had a tye dye pattern which had orange and white patches.

Yaoyorozu looked confident despite being in a simple bright red bikini.

All the girls looked the guys over, but they stopped on Izuku, again on his right arm. He then said while pointing to the ocean, "I'm fine girls, trust me. Let's just go swimming huh?"

The group then walked down the beach and then put their stuff down in the sand. Tooru then sprung forward and took her boyfriend's hand and proclaimed, "Let's go!" She dragged him to the shore and the two quickly submerged themselves until the water was up to his upper chest. His girlfriend then asked, "So what do you want to do?"

Midoriya pondered the question for a moment for responding with, "Why don't we just ride with the waves to start?"

"Sure, sounds relaxing," Hagakure stated.

It wasn't as if the waves were big that day, there were even a few surfers out. Though the two would need to swim out more to get waves big enough to carry them. As the first wave came over them, they tried to stay together but got separated as they tumbled with the wave. The force surprised Tooru, and she was worried if Izuku was okay, though he felt fine and said as such. The two repeated this a few times and while fun, the boy was focusing on something else. As they waded through the water together to each new big wave, he couldn't help stop looking at the features of the invisible girl's face that the dripping water revealed. It was more defined than the day the two shared in the rain. Sure, it was as anyone's outline of a head would be, but it was his girlfriend's face. And since it was just temporary he felt compelled to see it.

After getting back together after being thrown around by another wave, Tooru asked, "You know you're staring, right Izuku?"

"S-Sorry it's just I can somewhat make out your face because of the water," Izuku said with a slight blush.

Hagakure chuckled before saying, "Oh good I thought you were having perverted thoughts from staring at my swimsuit. Though let's be real if anyone should have such ideas in their head it's me. I mean you're pretty jacked Izuku. It doesn't fit your personality at all, not that it's a bad thing, it's just a bit ironic."

Her boyfriend's blush intensified at her words. "T-Thanks I g-guess?"

Tooru then asked, "You ready for more or something else?"

Midoriya replied, "I wouldn't mind doing something else."

"Okay, I get to choose this time though. Just give me a second to think of something," Hagakure stated as he saw one of her bracelets come up to her face.

Izuku looked back at the shore to see Momo and Ochako playing with a beach ball in water that was knee deep. He didn't remember anyone bringing such a thing, but then he realized that she must have made one with her quirk. Tenya and Mashirao were to their right and seemed to be swimming in a race. Ojiro always gotta make things into a competition, Midoriya thought.

Midoriya then felt his girlfriend grab his left hand and pull him towards the shore as she said, "Follow me I got an idea." She stopped where the water was up to his mid-chest. She then asked, "Ever play color dunk?"

Izuku gave a puzzled look as he answered with, "Never heard of it."

"That's fine I'll explain the rules," Hagakure replied with a mischievous tone. Her boyfriend didn't like where this was going but nodded in compliance. "Good now carry me like a princess," she stated with glee.

Midoriya almost fell back into the water when she said this. After regaining his composure and said slowly, "A-Alright, I'll play along." With care, the boy put his left arm behind her back and reached down to lift her legs with his right arm.

Tooru then explained, "Okay now since this is the first round I'll make it easy. You need to choose any color that can be found on a rainbow. I have to guess what it is. Now if I guess wrong you dunk my head in the water, but if I guess right you earn a point and we switch places. You only get three guesses; then you switch with no points. And we'll play three rounds, whoever has the most points at the end wins!"

Izuku got the gist of it and then thought of what color to choose. Once chosen he said, "Okay I have my color, you can start."

Hagakure quickly stated, "Green!" The green haired teen groaned in defeat and the two of them switched their positions. Being carried by his girlfriend felt weird, but he started to think of what she would choose. Maybe to throw him off she would choose the same as he had. "Okay, I'm ready," Tooru said with confidence.

Izuku stated, "Green!" His answer was met with a dunk. It surprised him to be wrong and that she had plunged his head without warning.

"Like I would choose the same color you did. That's boring, try again," his girlfriend said after laughing.

With that idea wrong, Midoriya visualized the secondary color wheel in his head. The opposite end of green on the color wheel was red, maybe that was it? His idea had him say hello to the water once more. As he heard Hagakure giggle, he instead tried a different approach. How did she choose the right color so quickly? Green was the boy's favorite color, so maybe she guessed that from what he usually wore like his hero suit and his current swim trunks. Then it hit him, Tooru was wearing a blue swimsuit. It also, unfortunately, brought up the memories of the three instances he had seen his girlfriend's underwear, and in all of them, they were blue.

Izuku cleared his throat before saying, "Blue?"

The invisible teen sighed as she let her boyfriend down. She then said, "Darn I thought I had you. One point for both of us then." After they swapped she stated, "Okay this round we can do more colors. So now black, white, gold, and silver are options."

Midoriya randomly chose a color this time and nodded that he was ready.

"Black!" Dunk.

"Gold?" Dunked again.

"Er, green?" Once more submerged in water. Now a wet and frustrated girlfriend asked, "Well what was it?"

Izuku smirked as he stated, "I chose purple."

"Alright, then my turn again," Tooru said with confidence. After a few moments, she said she was ready, and her boyfriend began to guess.

He thought about her swimsuit again but this time on the color of her frills and shouted, "White!" Dunk.

He then randomly said an older color, "Orange?" Dunked again.

He gave up and randomly guessed a new color, "Silver?"

"Wrong, no points for you," Hagakure said as she this time let go of Midoriya without warning, and dropping him into the water.

After Izuku came back up and coughed, he asked, "What was that for?"

Tooru explained, "Just having a bit of fun. By the way, I chose yellow. Anyways this last round, anything goes. One new rule is that the color has to be one word. Also, this time you get five guesses. And finally, even if you get it wrong, you have to respond if they are getting close. So cold would mean not even close, or you're going away from the right answer, warm means you're getting close, and hot means you're almost there!"

As he picked up his girlfriend, Izuku thought of something quite obscure and then said he was ready.

"Red!" Dunk.

"Cold"

"Green?" Dunked again.

'Warm."

"Blue?" Dunked yet again.

Hot.

"Teal?" Dunked once more.

"Cold."

"Azure?" Dropped into the water.

After Hagakure resurfaced, Midoriya said, "You were warm. The color was periwinkle."

His girlfriend groaned, "I forgot that color even existed. And I'm guessing you dropped me as revenge huh?"

Izuku sarcastically stated, "Maybe."

Tooru replied back, "Well I'm tossing you next time you lose so you better be ready!"

Her boyfriend crossed his arms and said, "There's one something I wanna ask before we play again. What happens if I don't get a point this round?

"Then we keep playing till only one of us earns a point," Hagakure explained.

"Alright then, that just means I gotta get a point this round and finish this," Midoriya said with clenched fists.

The invisible teen chuckled before saying, "Getting cocky, are we? Good luck with that!" She then picked him up and signaled she had chosen her color.

Just to be extra sure Izuku said, "Green!" Dunk.

"Again with green, huh? Anyways, warm," Hagakure replied.

Now he had two options, go brighter with yellow or darker with blue. Since blue was her color choice in the first round, and since he had chosen periwinkle, a shade of blue his last go, he said, "Blue!" Dunked again.

She grunted, "Hot."

So it was a shade of blue, Midoriya pondered. But was it lighter or darker blue, or more towards green or purple? He guessed a darker shade and stated, "Cobalt?" Dunked once again.

"Cold," Tooru stated triumphantly.

So something lighter, he thought. Maybe even go more towards green. He then said, "Turquoise."

She reluctantly replied, "Warm."

Izuku wanted to win, so he thought long and hard this time. He wondered, what's another color could work that was on the lighter side of blue.

"I don't have all day, Izuku," his girlfriend huffed.

While looking up at her, he got an idea. Her suit. The color of Hagakure's hero suit. That had to be it. With confidence, Midoriya stated, "Cyan!"

Tooru sighed before saying, "Well looks like you win. Ready for your prize?" Her boyfriend was about to respond but was cut off when he felt her lean in and kiss him on the cheek. Before he could say anything, Hagakure dropped him once more into the water.

I guess I can't have everything, Midoriya thought as he floated underwater for a few moments. After he resurfaced, his girlfriend said, "Looks like the others have gone back to the beach. Let's see what they're up to."

Once the two made it to shore, they noticed Mashirao and Tenya playing volleyball against one another while the other two girls watched. Earlier, when they all walked down to change, Izuku saw some people playing on the court. Those people were nowhere in sight, so it made sense that his tailed friend would want to play now that it was empty. However, the volleyball was different than the one the group before. Where did it come from? Then it hit Midoriya, of course, Yaoyorozu must have made one with her quirk.

Ojiro turned towards the couple after scoring on Ida and stated, "Ah good you two are back. Wanna play some three on three?"

"I'll play but I think Izuku should sit out, he's still recovering and all," Hagakure replied as she tightened her grip on her boyfriend's palm.

Mashirao groaned before saying, "Aw man, but that means the teams will be uneven."

"I'll step out. I got a bit of a stomach ache anyhow," Ochako said while putting a had on her chest.

Tenya came over and asked in a worried tone, "This isn't because of my cooking, is it? I'm so sorry! Maybe this was too much for me."

"It's fine Ida-kun, the food tasted great, so I doubt it's your cooking that is the problem. I'm sure it's because we didn't wait till we got in the water," Uraraka argued.

Ida put a hand on his chin as he replied, "Ah yes, that logic is sound. Well, I hope you feel better after resting a while."

"Don't worry I'll have Midoriya-san keep me company," Ochako said as she motioned to Izuku to follow.

As Midoriya walked with her, he heard the four that wanted to play discussing teams. The two arrived at their backpack which was under an umbrella. Izuku wondered if Momo had made this as well. They set out some towels and sat on them and looked out at their friends at the court. Tooru and Mashirao were on the left. Tenya and Momo on the right.

As they started their first match, Ochako, "I know this sounds late, but Happy Birthday Deku-kun! I hope this is helping you feel better after everything that happened last week."

"It is and thanks," Izuku happily responded.

Uraraka cleared her throat before stating, "Sorry if this comes off as rude but have you told Hagakure-chan about rescuing Bakugo-san yet?"

The question made the boy freeze. This again, he thought. Midoriya sulked his shoulders be replying with, "No I haven't. But I should have."

"So it seems only her and Jiro-san don't know what you guys did that night," Ochako sighed in disappointment.

Curious, Izuku asked, "Did Ida-kun tell you the details about what happened?"

"He showed up at my place and told me about everything on Friday," Uraraka huffed.

Midoriya then asked, "Were you mad at him?"

"Of course I was Deku-kun, at all of you. It's just as Tsuyu-chan said; we're no better than the villains if we just think we can do what we want. The pro heroes could have possibly handled it all without the risk of all of you getting injured or worse," Uraraka stated in an angry tone. She then exhaled loudly before continuing by saying, "But at least Tenya told me about it Deku-kun. Hagakure-chan is gonna flip if you don't tell her soon."

Midoriya scratched the back of his head as he said, "I know, but today wouldn't be the best time. And sadly I just found out Tooru is going on a trip to South Korea starting Friday. Telling her before she left wouldn't be for the best. At least that gives me about two weeks to figure out how to deliver the news to her."

"Promise me you'll do it before we get back to school," Ochako stated in a serious tone.

"I'll try my best Uraraka-chan," was all Izuku said slowly.

This got a sigh from her, but she didn't push the subject any further. The two watched their friends in silence for a few minutes. It seemed pretty even at the moment between the two teams. From the looks of it, no one was using their quirks in their match. Tenya seemed the fastest regardless of not using his quirk. Surprisingly Tooru and Mashirao made a good team. She was quicker and more flexible of the two and would get the incoming ball and pass it to her teammate who would return the pass with power. Momo seemed like the weak link on her team, as while she tried, she couldn't keep up with everyone else. Luckily it appeared that Ida's speed was able to alleviate this somewhat.

While watching the match, Midoriya wondered if Ida had asked Uraraka to be his boyfriend or not. The two hadn't shown any signs of the sort but it could be because of what happened last week that they were secretive about it if they were. After working up some courage, he asked, "Uraraka-chan, how are things between you and Ida-kun?"

Ochako put her hands on her face, minus her thumbs, and blushed slightly. She then responded slowly, "Although it took him forever to say yes to me, we officially became a couple on Friday finally."

Izuku gave the girl a confused look as he asked, "He took forever to say yes? What do you mean?"

"It wasn't long after Tooru's birthday. I asked Tenya if he would like to do the same, but he said he needed time to think about it," Ochako explained. Her blush went crimson as she continued with, "I even tried to be more intimate with him so he would make up his mind, but that didn't seem to work. I then figured he just wanted to focus on the exams, so I backed off from doing that again."

The events from the sleepover at Ida's house started to make sense to Midoriya. He was glad that he was able to convince his friend to take a more official stance in his relationship with Uraraka. He put a hand on her shoulder as he stated, "Well congratulations to you both. But I guess you wanna keep this a secret for now?"

"I'd appreciate that Deku-kun. We decided to tell everyone in class once school starts again," the floating heroine stated.

Izuku chuckled internally at this; it was the same plan he and Tooru had before it went down in flames later that day. He then said, "Well I guess I'll have another reason to look forward to my first day back at U.A. even more. I'm sure everyone will be supportive of it."

"Yeah I think so too," Ochako said with a bright smile.

Talking about the dorms, however, brought another thought into Izuku's head. Tenya's birthday. Because of the arrangements of moving into the dorms, everyone was required to come to school about two weeks earlier than when classes were supposed to start. They weren't told of what was to be the curriculum before the regular courses began. Regardless, this meant Ida's birthday would happen during this time, August 22nd Midoriya remembered.

Midoriya then asked, "So um, Uraraka-chan. What are you planning to do for Ida-kun's birthday?

Uraraka shrugged with a pout on her face, "I don't know. It sucks that we have to go to school early cause of the whole 'we are gonna to live there now' thing. I guess we could go do something once we have a day off or something. That's over a month away though, so we haven't thought much about it."

"Understandable, but if you need any help, just ask. I'd be happy to help," Izuku stated sincerely.

"Thanks, Deku-kun. I'll be sure to if I require it," Ochako said with a smile.

The two of them then continued watching their other friends play volleyball, occasionally making comments to one another about what was happening. Eventually, after a few games, Mashirao and Tooru pulled ahead in wins. At this point, everyone decided to return to the water. Hagakure however just wanted to relax, so she and Midoriya just sat in the water and watched their friends have fun. The water was about waist high where they were seated.

Hagakure started the conversation by asking, "So what did you and Uraraka-chan talk about?"

It took Midoriya a few seconds, but he answered with a lie by saying, "Oh, I just thanked her for keeping you safe back when you fought that weird villain back during summer camp. Then we just talked about school stuff." He hated doing all this lying, but it did make him want to truthfully thank Uraraka for ensuring his girlfriend safety sometime later.

"I see," Tooru said in a wishy-washy tone as if she didn't believe that was all that was said. She didn't pursue it though and instead stated, "Well anyways sorry for just throwing you over to Ojiro-san before we had lunch. He's been acting strange since our school trip. Did you find out anything?"

Trying again to cover for his friends, Midoriya lied by saying, "I think he's still trying to get over everything that's happened as of late."

"Nah that can't be it, he was acting weird even before the villains attacked us," Hagakure argued.

"Well minus being aloof he seemed normal to me," Midoriya once again lied. This was becoming a bad habit, he thought.

The invisible girl groaned and then said, "Well whatever it is hopefully he gets over it. If this continues when we get back to school, do you mind trying to figure out what's wrong?"

"I promise," Izuku slowly stated. He felt that at some point he might as well tell her. The boy did think all Mashirao needed was time to sort out his feelings about his situation with Momo. Hopefully, by then, it would be easier to answer Tooru about what was going on.

Hagakure thanked her boyfriend, and two watched their friends play chicken fight. Yaoyorozu was carrying Uraraka and Ojiro was on Ida's shoulders. The girls had just won as Tenya lost his balance and fell over. Midoriya wondered if his friend was struggling to factor in the extra weight due to Mashirao's tail?

After a few minutes passed, Tooru asked, "I know asking this is kind of out the blue, but do you like my swimsuit?"

Izuku stuttered as he replied, "W-What?"

"I mean it's not a bikini like the other girls, but I liked the frills and the colors on this one. It wasn't until I started changing with the girls did I notice that maybe I should have chosen something more mature," his girlfriend stated in a disgruntled voice.

Midoriya quickly blurted out, "I-It's fine Tooru. It's like you said last month during your birthday. Some clothing is about exposing skin, and well you don't have anything to show. So going for just what you like by looks makes sense to me."

"Thanks, Izuku," Hagakure stated cheerfully as she leaned in closer.

Izuku then asked, "I am curious to why you are wearing a swim cap though."

Tooru replied, "Oh this? Just trying to keep my hair in good condition liked you suggested on my birthday."

The boy recalled feeling his girlfriend's hair, and how rough in texture it was. He was glad she was willing to try and change herself for the better, even if it was just her hair.

Now even more curious, Midoriya asked, "So you've been using conditioner too?"

"Yep, about three weeks ago. I only use it when it feels dry, which felt like every time I showered at first, but it's steadily been getting better," Hagakure explained. She then switched her tone to a mischievous one as she said, "Don't worry, once it feels nice I'll let you feel it again."

Izuku sighed at his girlfriend's teasing, but he couldn't deny that he did look forward to the idea somewhat.

The invisible girl then asked, "So are you enjoying today so far?"

"Yeah, I never expected your surprise to be inviting everyone else to the beach. I mean I can't do much since I need to let my arms and body to recover but them simply being here has helped me feel better," Midoriya answered.

He told the truth this time at least. All the stress of everything as of late had been getting to him. But with all his friend here, he felt a lot better about everything going forward. Even his talk with Uraraka had motivated him to want to reveal to Hagakure about his rescue of Bakugo. Today reminded Izuku of the aftermath of the Hero Festival. He had upset Tooru because of his reckless use of his quirk. And despite the stress involved, Midoriya invited his then best friend to his home as a way to make her feel better and to say he was sorry. Now on his birthday, Hagakure invited the others despite probably wanting to instead spend her time alone with him to ensure that he cheered up.

Izuku felt he needed to thank her, properly. He coughed nervously before stating, "Hey T-Tooru I want to thank you for everything today."

"No problem, Izuku. It's your birthday, and you deserve it," Tooru responded gleefully.

Midoriya slowly grabbed his girlfriend's shoulders and brought her close to his face, "N-No like, I w-want to t-truly thank you T-Tooru." He gulped and leaned forward to kiss the invisible girl on the side of her cheek. The boy felt terrible that she was the only one that was kissing him, and now if any, she deserved to receive one from him, even if it was taking all his concentration to try and stay calm during it.

It was short, but it got the message through, as Hagakure ecstatically stated afterward with, "Took you long enough. But now that I think about it, I never really got you a present. I guess I should fix that."

Izuku felt her grab his cheeks and pull him into a kiss on the lips. It was wet, just like any other kiss. But the sensation was different. The lips were so much more sensitive than any other part of the face. So for Midoriya was a completely new experience. It happened so quick that the boy was unable to respond to it, but either way his brain was done. The boy's body was also done. In no way was he prepared for this. But as Tooru finished the kiss, her boyfriend just gawked at her in disbelief.

Hagakure then nonchalantly said, "What? I thought it was adorable that you finally worked up the courage to kiss me for once. Plus you deserved a special present for your special day."

Before her boyfriend could respond, Mashirao yelled, "Hey lovebirds! If you're done over there wanna join us riding the waves?"

Midoriya looked over to see his friends with various reactions to what just happened. Ojiro was chuckling. Ida was shaking his head in disappointment, probably because of his tailed friend's interruption of the couple's moment. Uraraka had a wide grin on her face. Momo looked a bit unsettled and had a profound blush that matched her swimsuit color.

Hagakure stood up, and Midoriya saw one of her bracelets stop by his face. Cheerfully, she asked, "You ready to go join them Izuku?"

Izuku grabbed below the bracelet with his right hand as she pulled him up he said with a grin, "Yeah let's go have so more fun Tooru."

* * *

 **So you might be wondering, um didn't you say this was going to release on February 1st?**

 **There are two reasons for that.**

 **First, if you haven't already noticed, the cover art for the fic has been updated. A few days before chapter sixteen's release, InazumaFrost showed me the pic he was gonna upload as the cover art for his fic, String Instruments and Notebooks. It's an Izuku x Kyoka fic you should check out as not only is it great, it has the same origin story as this fic did. We were both inspired to write by QuirkQuartz's Awkward Energy and decided to go with an even rarer pairing for Izuku than MinaDeku (which has slowly picked up steam as of late). InazumeFrost was running into the same problem as I when choosing cover art for our fics. Fanart for the pairings almost doesn't exist. He did find one good one done in pencil, and after a little snooping he found the artist, nocunoct on Tumblr (check it out if you want to see a bigger picture), and asked him if he would update/color it, and he did. It inspired me to ask nocuncot if he'd be willing to make me some Izuku x Tooru art for me and well here we are.**

 **Another reason this was posted was to celebrate Cubicity turning six months old, yesterday (I originally was going to post this yesterday but it really needed an extra day of editing). On July 23rd last year I released the first chapter and it's hard for me to believe how far this has come since then! This fic is just about to pass 50,000 views but also pass 300 favorites and 400 followers since the last chapter's release! So thanks for everything guys/gals, hope you enjoy the early release and the new cover art!**

 **Night Foilage began editing my older chapters starting January 4th and man has it been a great help (also why am I so blind to my mistakes). She's actually doing them faster than I expected so that's neat. Three chapters have been done so far. Here's the total the edits she's done per chapter:**

 **1: 68 (2,127 words)**

 **2: 55 (4,507 words)**

 **3: 98 (5,101 words)**

 **The edits have mostly been grammar but she's also giving advice about how to portray characters and my how to write dialogue. I look forward to working with her on current chapters eventually!**

 **I also started posting this fic on Wattpad (crazy_man185), an odd choice I know. I thought I might as well spread my fic to an even wider audience (even though it seems the community there vastly prefers x reader fics), cause why not? I'll only be posting chapters there that have been edited by** **Night Foilage** **until she catches up to current chapters.**

 **I'm on Tumblr now, so that's a thing. Same username as the one I use here. I'm aiming to post random facts/tidbits about the fic that I don't go over in the author notes, answer questions, share BNHA fanart, and discuss my headcanons of BNHA. It's just another way to expand interest for my fic and have another way readers can contact me outside of reviews/private messages here.**

 **So manga chapter 167 looks to tease the traitor plot thread potentially to be getting answered this arc. I personally do not think it is Aoyoma, but we'll have to wait and see. Again if Tooru does turn out to be the traitor then I'll have to see how things turn out before making a decision whether to include that in this fic or not. Let's just say if it's done well and she is redeemable then I'll greatly consider doing it. If its done poorly or she isn't redeemable then I'll continue writing this fic as if she was never the traitor (or hooking up with Izuku made her not go traitor) and try and incorporate such a plot line to someone else. Still a lot in the air at the moment.**

 **Now enough wasting your time over all that jazz, let's focus on the chapter itself. I felt Inko potentially sabotaging Izuku's relationship with Tooru would have him react differently than what we saw in the manga. Hence why I did the first scene and it also gave me a chance to further flesh out Mrs. Hagakure. I did consider having Tooru come home and talk to him but she was going to have such a big part in the next scene I decided against it and instead focus entirely on Tooru's mom (and just have a phone conversation instead). Also, I wanted to do something with Inko since this is really the last time we see her in the manga (as of chapter 167) so I thought a little send off wouldn't hurt. Now Midoriya's birthday having everyone come was nice, as it let the group have some quality time together outside of school. It also gave us some updates on some people, especially Uraraka. I feel out of the main group I have fleshed her out the least. I mean, it's hard to want to use Ochako that much since we already see her so much in the canon material, so we already know who she is and how she works. But I haven't had her have a big speaking part since chapter seven, so she was due more screen time. Having Uraraka discuss her relationship with Ida gives ya'll an update on how that ship is doing (since the last time it was discussed was chapter twelve). I was tempted to have Momo and Izuku talk a bit but I felt I teased enough with Mashirao's confusion. Plus there's always time during the dorms. :3**

 **There is an issue I would like to discuss that up came near the end of writing chapter sixteen, and that's the timeline of events. I made them different than what is canon. I made the school trip occur just as their summer break begins, though in the manga more than likely some time passed before this happened (but the manga gives us no clue at how much time passed). I needed this to happen if I was going to be able to fit in Izuku's birthday following both the school trip/hideout raid arcs. The final exams occurred in the first week of July in the manga. Then by placing the school trip on the second week, I could have Midoriya's birthday be at the start of the third week of July. It actually worked perfectly for me, as I made a make-shift calendar and everything lined up. I had Tooru's birthday, June 16th, on a Sunday then that would mean the last day of June would have to be on a Monday. Then July 15th would have to occur two Mondays later, so I guess I lucked out. But speaking of that regard, Izuku's birthday date is interesting. In-universe, he shares the same birthday with Mirio** **and out-universe he shares it with Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach. Thought it would be neat to mention.**

 **Next chapter has us finally start with the dorms, but really it will only focus on the first day. There is the rest of the summer break I could expand upon (and it pains me not to), but I want the plot to advance a bit before having Izuku and Tooru interact in-person again. Nineteen will then focus on the Super Moves Training leading up to the Provisional License Exam (this might be two chapters or one not sure yet). Expect a good amount of Izuku interacting with the minor characters (in nineteen/twenty) I've slowly been building up, including new ones like Mei and two others I don't want to go into at this time. Even though I released this early it still was extremely helpful to have the extra time to write it (also so I could game more ;p).**

 **So see ya again on March 1st!**


	18. Confrontations

Chapter 18: Confrontations

Izuku was on a train taking him to a new semester at U.A.; though normal classes wouldn't start for another twelve days. Instead, this period was to be used for adjusting to the new living arrangements. However, things were entirely different than Midoriya's first day at the school. There was a decent amount of stress involved that time, but it was overshadowed by his excitement and wonder of finally living his dream. Today it felt the exact opposite.

It was Wednesday, August 20th and Tooru had been back from her trip to South Korea for weeks, as she came back at the end of July. Izuku felt it would be easier to tell her of his involvement in saving Katsuki once she got back. But that wasn't the case at all.

On the first day of August, Hagakure invited her boyfriend over to show and tell everything she did on her trip. She said she didn't want to just go over it on the phone. And Midoriya agreed once he got there, she had taken plenty of pictures and videos to show, and it was nice to have her parents there as well as they all talked about what they experienced. Tooru also used this opportunity, to Izuku's surprise, to disclose the idea of the weekly video chats to her family. Her mother was immediately supportive of the plan, while her father found it a bit inconvenient but in the end, was okay with it. All this positive energy just felt so good to see and hear from his girlfriend. Midoriya just couldn't bring himself to bring it down that day. Even when Hagakure took him upstairs to her room to discuss the next semester together, he kept his mouth shut on the subject. She was just so happy and looking forward to the future, while he was being dragged down by the lies and insecurities of the past.

Izuku felt that perhaps he would have to do it over a phone call, as cowardly as that seemed. There were many times during the last days of the summer break that were spent staring at his phone. Midoriya's finger would hover over the call button to his girlfriend, only to slowly back away in defeat time and time again. The stress was even getting in the way of his training. The boy had resumed exercising a few days before Hagakure was back home. It didn't matter if it was running, weight lifting, or even stretches; it was bothering him, and it cut his workout short some days.

The day before his departure to live in the U.A. dorms, Izuku made an ultimatum that he had to tell Tooru before school began on September 1st. After exercising that morning, he spent the rest of the day writing up ways to tell his girlfriend the truth of what happened. Ideas on how to start the conversation, rebuttals to possible arguments or questions she might have, and various ways of saying sorry were all things Midoriya had written down. He figured that today wouldn't work, as they both would be busy setting up their respective rooms. Thursday might be possible, Izuku considered, though that depended if there was any plan from their homeroom teacher to do some preliminary school work before classes began. If so, then he would wait till Sunday, if not, then he would attempt it tomorrow.

Midoriya then got off his train and started his stroll towards school. He didn't have much in his backpack, as most of his luggage had been picked up and sent to U.A. a few days before. Izuku had made another plan the day before he packed up all his stuff, one that involved having his new room be an exact copy of his old one. Sure he would have different furniture, but he wanted to have his All Might and pro hero merchandise arranged as precise as he could. Midoriya took pictures of his bedroom and wrote notes on each piece he owned to make sure of it. He figured that if he just focused on unpacking today and hanging out with his classmates afterward, he could get through the first day without much interaction with Tooru. Izuku felt if he spent too much time with her today, it would unnerve him for what was to come. He knew it sounded pathetic to fear the presence of his girlfriend, but it was just how it was at the moment.

The boy's fear all boiled down to dreading to see Hagakure angry. Even though the times that this occurred was few and far between, he hated each instance of it, since it was his fault each time. Pushing himself to self-mutilation in his fight against Shoto, risking his life by pursuing Stain, his continued forgiveness of Katsuki despite all the years of bullying he endured from him were all such times. But this topped them all, Izuku felt. There was also a lingering dread that he had that if this was not handled correctly, this could end in a break-up. Such a subject had been the reason Midoriya had awoken a few nights in a cold sweat. Nightmares of such a scenario had played out sometimes as he slept. But the worst of it all? Izuku couldn't fault his girlfriend if she did question their relationship once she found out the truth. It was a huge deal, and he still was having the wavering courage to tell her the truth after all this time.

As the view of U.A. came into view, the boy inhaled profoundly and slapped his cheeks with his hands. Just need to get through today, you can do this, he thought.

* * *

Midoriya was currently restlessly tossing and turning in his new bed. He couldn't get to sleep. And ironically once again, his plans had fallen apart before he could even implement them. And once more, it was because of something out of Izuku's control. Though like revealing his relationship with his girlfriend friend to the class, if he had just said something earlier, it wouldn't have been forced out.

Either way, it didn't matter now.

Tooru knew.

Their homeroom teacher had gathered everyone in front of their new dorm at the start of the day. He revealed that the time they had before school officially began would be used to train for the provisional hero license exam, which would happen the day before regular classes. But Eraserhead then dropped the bombshell. He knew of the attempted rescue of Bakugo and even said the names of everyone that had gone. Aizawa also stated that after seeing most of his student's reactions, almost everyone else had known about the plan. The teacher was blunt when he said that he would have had everyone in the class expelled save for Katsuki, Kyoka, and Tooru if All Might hadn't been forced retire. For Izuku it was hard to tell how his girlfriend was taking this. As his homeroom teacher asked everyone to follow him so he could give a tour of their dorm, Midoriya tried to approach Hagakure and say something. Instead, she only told him that they would talk about it later in a harsh tone.

The rest of the day, for the most part, seemed quite reasonable. As a means to keep his mind from dwelling too much on what was going to happen, Midoriya spent the rest of the day unpacking. He originally planned to just do a little at a time over the next couple of days so he could hang out with his friends. But Izuku didn't want thoughts about how Tooru would react to finding out this way to linger in his head, so he poured all his energy into setting up his room to completion. It was nighttime by the time he finished.

Izuku then participated in a group activity amongst his classmates, took a shower, and then laid in his bed expecting a call from Tooru, but it never came. At almost midnight he decided to call it quits and just try to sleep, but he wasn't able to. After some time passed of no sleep, Midoriya was wondering what to do now.

The boy didn't have much time to think about it as he soon heard a soft knock at his door. This made him jump as he immediately dreaded who could be at the other side of his door. Izuku got up and hesitated a moment before opening it. He then gave a massive sigh of relief to see it was just Mashirao.

"Hey, Izuku. Hope I didn't startle you," Ojiro stated nervously.

Midoriya gave a soft chuckle before saying, "It's fine. I thought you were Tooru. Is there something important you wanted to talk about? It's past midnight and all."

The tailed teen looked away from his friend and brought a hand to the back of his neck. He then said, "Yeah it is important. Mind if I come in for a minute?"

For Izuku to see Mashirao act so unsettled, it had to be something big. "Sure thing. Come in," he answered as he motioned his guest to step in.

Ojiro sighed moving forward. Once inside, Midoriya closed the door and turned on the lights. He then turned around to see that Mashirao had taken a seat on the chair at his desk. Izuku went over to his bed and sat down before asking, "So what's up Mashirao?"

"I didn't think you and the others would go through with Kirishima-san's plan," the tailed teen stated not looking at his host.

Midoriya's shoulders sagged at hearing this. Of course, this was going to be the subject. He wondered, was Ojiro angry about it as well? Did he feel left out? Izuku waited a few seconds before responding with, "We did. And I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner. I was so focused on how to break it to Tooru these last few weeks, I just forgot about telling you."

Mashirao held up a hand as he replied, "It's fine Izuku. I'd rather you give priority to Hagakure-san than me. I just thought Yaoyorozu-san wouldn't have accepted the idea. The entire operation hinged on her making that tracker for you. I guess I underestimated her and even Ida-kun coming along as well." He then spun the chair around to look at Izuku and asked, "I want to hear everything that happened that night if that's okay."

Izuku exhaled in relief. It sounded like his friend wasn't upset about it, he just wanted the full story. Midoriya felt he owed him that much. Besides, telling Ojiro would be good practice to when he told Hagakure he figured.

Izuku then spent quite some time going over everything that happened. The surprise of Tenya not only showing up but agreeing to go. The trip to the Kamino Ward via train and their acquiring of disguises to remain anonymous. The discovery of the Nomu warehouse and the arrival of All for One which left them all frozen and speechless from fear. His desperate but successful plan to rescue Bakugo during the chaos of All Might's battle with All for One without fighting themselves. Watching the finale of the fight amongst a crowd of civilians after they escaped the area. And finally, bringing Katsuki to the police and regrouping before going their separate ways home.

During the entire explanation, Mashirao stayed silent. Midoriya found something quite odd though. While his guest looked interested in what was being said, occasionally he would nervously dart his eyes around the room. If Ojiro hadn't been in the room just hours before during the group activity, then his behavior wouldn't have seemed so weird. It would make sense he would steal glances of Izuku's room if this was his first time here, but it wasn't. He wondered what was making his tailed friend so uncomfortable?

After he finished, Mashirao finally responded by saying, "Sounds like you all went through hell that night to get Bakugo-san back." Izuku could only nod at the statement. The combination of talking for so long, the lack of sleep from the previous night, and the late hour were starting to make him quite tired. Ojiro then asked another question with, "When did you plan to tell Hagakure-san about all of this?"

Midoriya begrudgingly got up and grabbed a notebook by the nightstand by his bed. He then opened it to a certain page and gave it to Mashirao before answering, "Before we resumed normal classes again. I should have told her earlier though. Originally I was going to tell Tooru after she got back from her family trip. But I kept chickening out like a coward. Yesterday I finally pulled myself together and made a plan, which is written in that notebook."

The tailed teen spent a minute reading the notebook before saying, "This seems a little excessive Izuku."

However, before Ojiro could say anything more the notebook suddenly was jerked upward away from his hand was then floated in midair.

It only took Midoriya a second to realize what was going on.

Tooru was here, in his room.

Again naked.

Izuku opened his mouth to yell in a panic, but before any words could escape his lips, Mashirao had already sprung up and placed his right hand over his mouth. With his other hand, the tailed teen held an index finger in front of his face.

"Woah now keep it down. Everyone else is sleeping," the tailed teen stated softly. The silenced teen gave a quick nod to his friend. He continued by saying, "Now I'm going to remove my hand, and you're gonna try and calm down before speaking again, alright?" Izuku gave a slower nod this time as an answer, and Mashirao let him go.

Midoriya immediately crossed his arms as he grabbed his shoulders. He then closed his eyes and started breathing deeply to try and calm his nerves.

Ojiro then asked, "The hell Hagakure-san? You weren't supposed to reveal yourself until after I talked with him for a bit more."

The invisible teen hushed him as she continued to read the notebook.

Mashirao put a hand to his head and sighed in annoyance. A few minutes passed before the tailed teen noticed Izuku's breathing was starting to slow and he put a hand on his shoulder as he asked, "Feeling better?"

Keeping his eyes closed, Midoriya replied, "G-Getting there."

Ojiro leaned in and whispered in his friend's ear, "If it helps, Hagakure-san is wearing her hero suit right now."

The sound of the notebook dropping on Izuku's desk got both boys attention. Tooru the said slowly, "I got it from here Ojiro-kun. And thanks so much for doing this for me."

Mashirao looked surprised by her statement. He then grunted and made his way towards the door. Before opening it, Ojiro stated, "Don't be too hard on him Hagakure-chan."

After the tailed teen left and the door closed, Izuku looked to where he last heard his girlfriend's voice and stated, "I-I think I'm ready to t-talk now."

A few moments passed then the lights suddenly turned off which startled Izuku. Tooru then stated, "Calm down. We gotta keep the illusion that you're in here alone and are in bed." After a few seconds, Midoriya heard his girlfriend say from behind him, "Well if you're ready to talk, I'm listening." Her voice was coming from his bed. The boy sighed softly before sitting on the floor and leaning his back against his bed. The invisible then asked in a puzzled voice, "Why are you sitting down there?"

"Cause it's what I d-deserve," Izuku said after a sniff. He was fighting back the tears the best he could.

Midoriya then felt something grab the back of his shirt. Hagakure then said, "Nope, you are coming up here with me. We got a lot to talk about and you sulking on the ground isn't gonna help."

"Y-Yes, ma'am," Izuku said meekly. He then got up and sat down next to the depression in his bed. After a few moments to work up some courage, he said, "So you r-read my plans to t-tell you. What did you t-think?"

"A poor excuse," Tooru responded bluntly. The words stung Izuku, but he couldn't disagree with her answer. She then said, "I mean I appreciate that you were at least thinking about it. At first, I thought you were just hoping I wouldn't ever find out and just forgotten about the whole thing."

With some confidence, Midoriya quickly replied, "I've been thinking about how I should tell you since you called me while I was on the train towards the Kamino Ward."

"Yeah but it's been over a month since then Izuku, this whole secret has been ridiculous," Hagakure said in a low, annoyed tone.

Izuku sank his head as he stated in a sad voice, "You're not wrong."

Silence followed for some time until Tooru asked, "Do you know the main reason I'm mad at you?"

"Cause what I did was very dangerous and stupid," Midoriya answered. He knew his girlfriend hated it when he did anything that threatened his safety. Which seemed to be quite often now that the boy thought about it.

"No," the invisible girl said with a grunt. She continued with, "Yes it was risky and dumb of you and the others to do but at least you weren't alone. Besides, you all agreed that fighting wasn't the way to go about it and you stuck with that plan."

Izuku then thought a moment before saying, "Was it because I did it for Kacchan?"

A long sigh escaped Hagakure's lips before she replied, "As much as firecracker deserves some retribution for his actions, he didn't deserve to be kidnapped by those villains. No one in our class does. So no, that's not why."

Midoriya brought his hands up to his face as he tried to think of the answer, but eventually, he felt hands on his shoulders. His girlfriend turned him towards her and stated, "Izuku, it's that I feel you don't trust me."

Izuku responded slowly, "Trust?"

Tooru tightened her grip as she replied, "Yes. All Might-sensei revealed both your secrets to me. The one person you look up to more than anyone else in the world told me his most personal secret. And it was yours as well. It's something so important that your mom doesn't even know about it. And yet you couldn't tell me this? Can you see why I feel you don't trust me?"

"Well I didn't wanna overload you with what I did on top of the truth about One for All," Izuku tried to argue.

Hagakure was quick to ask, "Then why wait so long to tell me?"

"Cause I was scared," the boy said in a raised voice. He immediately felt her let go of his arms and place a hand come over his mouth.

With a whisper, Tooru stated, "People are sleeping Izuku, remember?" Izuku nodded before he felt her let go. Hagakure then continued by saying, "You got the short end of the stick for roommates I swear. Purple blob to your right, Denki-san above you, and Sparkles to your right."

Confused, Izuku asked, "What's wrong with Aoyama-san?"

"I don't doubt he is good at keeping secrets if he found out about my visit tonight, I mean he's hard to read even for me, but I just don't want him butting into our troubles. He's weird," Hagakure explained. She then sighed before saying, "But that's not important right now. Why were you scared to tell me? Cause I would be angry at you?"

Midoriya gave a slow nod. He then said while holding back tears, "D-Deep in the back of my m-mind, I thought y-you might be so a-angry that you would b-b-break up with me T-Tooru."

After a few moments, Izuku then felt a hard poke to his forehead which almost made him fall out of his bed. Tooru kept her finger there as she said, "Izuku, why would I break up with you over this?"

After sniffing a few times to calm down, the boy responded with, "Cause I'm willing to throw myself at villains many times my strength over and over again. Yet, I can't even tell my girlfriend the truth after given so many chances of doing so. It's p-pathetic. Who would want a guy like that?"

"Well you make a good point," the invisible girl said in a teasing voice. This got a short grunt in response from Midoriya. Hagakure then said, "But anyways, have you considered that I see you as worth it despite your faults Izuku?"

Izuku then asked, "My f-faults?"

Tooru then explained, "Let's see. You don't think that highly of yourself despite all you've done. You get too emotional or just overthink situations sometimes. I don't want to even begin about your relationship with," she paused before continuing with disgust, "Bakugo."

Midoriya could only close his eyes and take it as she listed his faults. But then he felt an arm draped around his neck as his girlfriend said, "I could say more but let's leave it at that. Now even considering all that, I can deal with it cause I value all the good things there are about you Izuku more. And that doesn't mean we can't change you for the better on some of those. As I've said before you're a whole lot more social than when I first met you."

Midoriya continued to stay silent but opened his eyes and looked to his side at where his girlfriend was sitting.

"Anyways, it pains me to know that you were suffering this much because you couldn't tell me," Hagakure tried to say in a comforting voice. She then switched to a disappointed tone as she said, "Sure I would have been still mad about what you did if you told me earlier, but at least it would have been you who told me, not Aizawa-sensei."

"I'm so s-sorry that you had to learn about it out from someone other than me," Izuku replied in a somber tone.

Tooru sighed before stating, "I was wondering how long it was gonna take you until you said you were sorry. Didn't take you long with Ojiro-kun."

"Sorr-," Midoriya tried to say. But before he could finish, he felt a finger press against his lips.

"Now let's not turn this into a saying sorry spree to try and make up for everything," Hagakure stated before taking her finger away from her boyfriend's face. She then asked, "So, can we at least agree we need to be more open to one another going forward?"

Midoriya said with confidence, "I promise." He then felt the arm around his neck withdraw and felt Tooru get up from off the bed.

"Good now let me tell you about your punishment," the invisible girl stated mischievously.

Izuku face turned to shock as he asked, "P-Punishment?"

Tooru said with a stern voice, "But of course. You aren't walking away from this unscathed." Before her boyfriend had time to consider what her punishment could mean, she answered for him with, "No more intimacy until further notice."

"B-But-," Midoriya tried to say before being interrupted.

The interrupter stated, "No buts, I know you like us being intimate despite your reactions to it. We will be put on hold for a while. Okay?"

Izuku put a hand to his face as he asked, "So no hugs?"

"Nope," his girlfriend replied.

The boy then asked, "And no k-kissing?"

There was a short pause before Hagakure responded, "None."

Izuku noticed that pause from Tooru. Perhaps this was going to be hard for her too, he thought. On his birthday they had their first real kiss with one another. And to take a break from being close to one another would be difficult coming from that. But, at least Hagakure was forgiving him. And to Midoriya, that was the most important thing right now.

"Okay, I understand Tooru," Izuku said with certainty.

Upon hearing this, the invisible girl sighed and said, "I'm grateful you're okay with this. Now I should be going; it's late enough as is."

Midoriya was quick to stand up and ask, "Wait before you go, how did you set this whole thing up?"

Hagakure's voice came from the direction of his window as she explained, "Well if you must know, while I was setting up my room I came up with the plan. First I wanted to make sure no one outside our circle of friends found out about me sneaking into your room tonight. Ida-san and Yaoyorozu-chan might have gone with you during the rescue, but I very much doubt they would be willing to help me do this. And I don't blame them; they are our class leaders. It took a bit of convincing over the phone, but Ojiro-kun eventually agreed to the idea. The other reason I asked him to come was so it was easier to get the story out of you. I figured if I confronted you alone we'd be here all night as you stuttered through your words. It also helped calmed me down. I was still quite furious when I first came in."

Izuku did find it odd she wasn't as mad as he thought she would be. He thought she would at least slap him or something. Midoriya was immensely thankful for this.

"I was surprised how quickly Uraraka-chan was okay with it when I asked her next," the invisible girl then stated.

A startled Izuku then said, "Wait Uraraka-san is in on this too?" It did, however, make sense to him why Ochako was quick to agree with the idea. She was quite vocal that Tooru found out of the rescue before school began again. And he had failed in the regard.

"Well of course. I didn't want Ojiro-kun getting caught on the girl's side of the dormitories so late at night. I would need another girl to accompany me downstairs. And besides that, doors are my main weakness inside buildings when it comes to stealth."

This piqued Midoriya's interest, and he asked, "Doors?"

Hagakure explained with frustration, "Well yeah. Unless they have a window or something I can't see what's on the other side. It's a gamble every time and it was one of my main problems when doing stealth exercises with my trainer. We never did think of a great way to counter that problem of mine. Plus opening a door with no one on the other side would be a dead give away it's me to anyone in this building."

"I never really thought about your quirk, and it's weaknesses like that Tooru," Izuku stated as he took a few steps towards his window.

Tooru responded in a teasing voice, "Luckily both doors in the nurse's office had a window so sneaking in there wasn't an issue."

Hagakure's surprise two visits flashed backed in Midoriya's mind.

A phone then appeared out of nowhere about where he guessed his girlfriend was standing. I guess her hero suit has pockets, Midoriya thought. He couldn't remember seeing them when he first got to see the suit. The boy then asked, "Hey how did you get your hero suit? You didn't sneak back to the main campus to go get it did you?" Their hero suits were required to stay at school and were kept in their locker rooms.

"While I was making my room, Aizawa-sensei showed up at my door. He wanted to show me my updated suit," Tooru explained with glee.

Inching closer to her voice, Izuku asked, "Updates? Like what?"

"Well, first of all, my shoes I requested finally came in. But I'll show you them some other time. Also, I asked for some pockets to be made over the break. It's really minor but it was something I overlooked when I originally designed my suit," Hagakure replied.

Midoriya had an urge to grab his notebook and note this update but knew this wasn't the time and simply said, "I can't wait to see the shoes."

"They're neat, but I really should get back to my room. We need plenty of rest tomorrow for whatever Aizawa-sensei has cooked up for us to prepare for the provisional license exam. That and I wanna be at the top of my game when I confront that perverted purple blob after training," the invisible girl stated.

Oh right, that happened, Izuku remembered. After everyone had finished unpacking the girls came over to the guys as they rested in the common room on the first floor. Mina and Ochako proposed the idea of everyone showing off their rooms as a competition. For the most part, Midoriya enjoyed it, but when they were in Hagakure's room, Mineta had tried to sneak a peek into her underwear drawer. He expected his girlfriend to be more angry about it, but besides throwing a few words of disappointment, that was the end of that matter. Izuku wanted to step in, but he still wasn't exactly sure what Tooru was feeling at the time.

"Hey Tooru, why don't I talk to Mineta-san about what happened. He might be more willing to listen to what I have to say," Midoriya tried to argue.

"Oh? You sure? I didn't rip into him earlier cause I didn't want to throw off everyone else's mood, but I think at this point he needs a stern talking to from me and possibly the rest of the girls about his behavior," Hagakure responded.

Izuku crossed his arms as he explained, "I'm one of his few friends here at a school. That's one way I could get him to listen. And besides, he's my roommate."

"Alright fine, but if I don't get an apology from him before our provisional exams, the girls and I will be sure to tell him off ourselves," Tooru said in an annoyed tone.

Izuku gave a thumbs up before saying, "I'll try my hardest Tooru, I promise."

Hagakure's phone moved once more as she said, "Let me text Uraraka-chan that I'm ready. Then guide me downstairs, okay?"

After a few moments, the phone disappeared and Midoriya felt a tug on his shirt. This must be how she followed Ojiro in, he thought. The two then made their way downstairs.

A sleepy Ochako was waiting in the common room for them, as Izuku went slowly to make sure Tooru wouldn't fall forward on to him.

The tired girl stated, "You two make up?"

"Mostly," Midoriya said in an awkward tone.

After yawning, Uraraka stated, "Could have saved everyone a lot of trouble if you had just followed my advice from earlier Midoriya-san."

"You're right and I'm sorry," Izuku replied while sagging his shoulders.

Tooru then asked from behind Ochako, "What advice Uraraka-chan?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow Hagakure-chan, can we please just all go to bed already," the tried girl said in an annoyed voice.

* * *

It was late-afternoon on Thursday, and Izuku was waiting for All Might in Gamma Gym. Earlier in the day Eraserhead along with Ectoplasm, Cementoss, and Midnight had introduced a Super Move training regimen to the class. Not only would the training focus on creating a super move based on one's quirks, but it would also continue their quirk enhancement training from the summer school trip and then combine both to upgrading their hero suits to better accommodate their new skills.

However, Midoriya's training had fallen flat. He couldn't think of a super move as he was still just trying to control his quirk. Ectoplasm suggested he only work on refining and extending the duration of his quirk like Tiger had suggested before, but he wanted to do more. Everyone around Izuku seemed to be advancing with new techniques, and yet he was still just trying to grasp the basics of his quirk.

All Might then showed up in the middle of their training, which surprised Midoriya. It was the first time the class would see the skeleton of a man in his true form. Second, he thought his mentor would still require more time to recover from his battle with All for One. And finally, it gave Izuku hope that perhaps his one on one training with the former pro hero might be happening sooner than later. As All Might went around and gave advice to his classmates, he waited in anticipation to talk with him. The hint Midoriya eventually received however left him baffled for the rest of the training session.

 _You are still trying to imitate me._

Izuku thought, isn't that the whole point? To follow in his footsteps? To be All Might? The new symbol of peace? Why would he need to do something different? His idol was the number one pro hero. What could he change that was for the better?

Before leaving, All Might told his successor to stay after so they could talk in private. It both excited and intimidated Midoriya. Was this the start of the one on one training? Did his teacher already expect an answer to the advice he gave? Regardless, the minutes that passed seemed like an eternity as Izuku waited.

The boy's patience was at his wit's end when suddenly All Might arrived looking exhausted. The former pro hero rubbed his back with his free hand, as the other was still in a cast, as he said, "Sorry my boy, I wanted to get here sooner, but perhaps I still need to have more rest before coming back to work. I pretty much greeted the entire faculty after I left here. Wanna give a good impression despite my new look and all."

Izuku replied, "It's fine sir! I'm just happy we could meet again alone."

"Actually, I'm here too," a voice from between Midoriya and All Might stated.

While Izuku nearly jumped out of his skin, the skeleton of a man said, "Ah, Hagakure-san. Hello there, was there something you wanted to discuss?"

Tooru responded with, "I won't be here long I just wanted to ask a question. If that's okay with you Yagi-sensei?"

"Sure thing," All Might stated with a thumbs up from his free hand. It bothered Midoriya how okay his mentor was with this. He still wasn't used to her popping out of nowhere.

Hagakure then asked dryly, "When you revealed your secret to me during the summer, did you know about Midoriya-kun and the other classmates rescuing Bakugo-san?"

Izuku looked nervously at his mentor, who was giving his student a raised eyebrow. All Might then answered, "I did. I wasn't sure if your boyfriend had told you or not. If he hadn't, I felt that it would have been a lot to take in on top of our secret as well. I'm sorry if that inconvenienced you Hagakure-san."

"I found out about yesterday from Aizawa-sensei when he told the class, and Midoriya-kun told me everything about it last night," Tooru said with a hint of disappointment in her tone.

The former pro hero scratched his head as he stated, "I thought he would have told you sooner." He then gave a quick glare at his successor. Now Midoriya felt even worse about the situation. All Might then continued by saying, "But don't worry I gave him a good talk about how rash a decision it was. I must apologize though; I lied about punching him due to hurting himself so badly during your school trip. It was because of him not knowing when to let us adults do our job."

"It's fine, I'm just glad to hear you agree with me Yagi-sensei," Hagakure stated happily. She then continued with, "That's all I wanted to ask. I'm going to hit the shower now, bye boys."

After she left, All Might said slowly, "Your girlfriend can sure be scary sometimes, huh?"

"Yeah, I know all too well," Midoriya said with a sigh.

The teacher placed a hand on his student's shoulder before stating, "You really should have told her sooner."

"Yeah, I know. I was just a coward about it," Midoriya said while poking his two index fingers together. He then explained how Tooru snuck her into her room and some of what they talked about. Izuku was glad that mentor was willing to listen to him to things that concerned himself outside his hero training. It was an excellent way to vent his stress, he felt. Midoriya was sure not to mention the ban of hugging and kissing, as it would have been embarrassing.

All Might had a hand on his chin as he said, "Aizawa-san gave Hagakure-san her upgraded suit yesterday and not today? Most peculiar." Izuku gave his teacher a puzzled look, but the skeleton of a man shook his head before saying, "Never mind that. Just pointless rambling. Anyways, at least you two made up and are on good terms still. Let's focus on your lesson today." He coughed a bit before saying, "So have you come up with a solution to my advice yet?"

"No, sir. Could you possibly give me more-," Midoriya tried to ask however stopped once his idol put a hand on his head.

"You'll never learn if I just tell you the answer. The best way to grasp this lesson is for you to think of a solution yourself my boy," All Might explained as he ruffled the boy's hair. He then let go of his student before saying, "Aizawa-san told me you worked with Tiger from the Pussycats during the school trip. If you don't mind, I'd like to hear about the training you went through with him."

Izuku then explained about his odd exercises, sparring and talking with Tiger which involved revealing that the class now knew about his relationship with Tooru, attempting to make 8% Full Cowl more viable, and working on extending his base usage of Full Cowl.

The former pro hero found this good and said that he needed to thank Tiger for helping his student the next chance he ran into him. He then stated, "I want us to continue having meetups like this every couple of days so I can learn of your progress with your Super Move training until it's time for the exam. But today, I wanna assign some homework."

While Midoriya has happy to hear they would be getting together again often to discuss his training, he was more intrigued by the assignment his teacher was about to give him. He then nodded and stated, "Okay sir! What would you have me do?"

All Might then explained, "I want you to head on over to Development Studio and talk with someone from the Support Department. I think it's high time you get an equipment upgrade to handle better the power you'll wield in the future when you're able to handle higher percentages of Full Cowl. You should grab your costume instructions before heading there, you're going to need them."

The boy saluted before cheerfully saying, "Yes, sir!"

* * *

Izuku found a particular sight by the time he made it to the Development Studio. The pro hero he recognized as Power Loader was currently sweeping ash and other debris from outside the workshop. Seeing a hero doing such a menial task like cleaning while in costume was an odd sight.

As Midroiya got closer he could hear the excavation hero say, "I swear that girl." He then sighed before continuing with, "Won't even clean up after her explosions unless I ask."

"Um, hello, sir," Izuku said as he arrived.

"If you want work done to your suit, just go inside and talk to Hatsume-san. I'm busy here," Power Loader replied while not turning his back to the student as he continued to sweep.

Midoriya thanked him before turning to go inside the workshop only to see Ida and Uraraka in the doorway. "Oh, hey guys," he then said to the pair.

Tenya asked, "Here to increase the productivity of your suit as well Midoriya-kun?"

"Yeah, I wanna reinforce my costume to reduce stress on my body," Izuku replied. He then continued with, "What about you two? What were you upgrading?"

The tall teen responded with, "I'm trying to reduce the negative effects of my Recipro technique. So I asked for some changes to my radiators."

"I was just tagging along initially but I did get something to help me with motion sickness," Ochako quickly answered. She then took a few steps forward and whispered into Izuku's ear to say, "Just be careful with the girl in there Deku-kun. She's very perverse. Don't let her get too close to you okay?"

"Um, thanks for the warning Uraraka-chan," Midoriya said while scratching the back of her head.

Ida cleared his throat before stating, "She is most difficult to work with. Be on your guard."

They all said their goodbyes and then Izuku made his way inside. The room reminded him of a secret base. Workbenches with various tools littered the room, large machines were here and there, blueprints for suits hung from the wall, a test chamber to test the resilience of costumes, and computer monitors even took up one side of the room. At one workbench sat a girl who was soldering some object. Midoriya couldn't get a good look cause of her welding mask. He approached and waited until she reached a stopping point to inspect her work to ask, "Hello there. Are you Hatsume-san?"

The girl's voice was muffled by her mask but she said, "Can't talk now busy with this baby."

Baby? Wait, Izuku knew of someone that spoke like that. Mei was it? From the Hero Festival. Regardless, he continued by saying, "Um, I'm here to ask about getting my suit upgraded. Power Loader told me you could help."

Hatsume was quick to throw off her mask and bring her face within inches from Midoriya's face. It startled him but she didn't react to it and said, "Well when you put it that way, why not!" The girl studied her guest for a moment before saying, "Hmmm, you look familiar. Ah, we worked together at the Hero Festival right?"

"Yeah, it's been a while," Midoriya responded.

"Good thing those other students from the hero course came by otherwise I'd would have totally forgotten who you ever were. Though, sorry, I really don't remember your name," she said before giving a hearty laugh.

"It's Midoriya. Izuku Midoriya," the boy replied.

Mei pulled up a notebook and pencil from her pockets before stating, "Well Midoriya-san. What can I do for you today? Ya need refinement or total design change?"

"I'm actually not so sure," Izuku said as he sagged his shoulders.

"You came to me without an idea of what you want? Kind of boring Midoriya-san. I wanna get straight into making your new baby," the pink haired girl said with a pout.

Midoriya put up his hands in defense as he stated, "Sorry I didn't mean to bore you. I'm just not sure how extensive an upgrade I'll need is all."

Hatsume sighed before saying, "Okay well Maijima-sensei wants me to handle this personally so I'll hear you out. Just tell me what issue you have with your current suit and we'll go from there." The girl then grabbed some chairs and motioned for her guest to take a seat as she took one as well.

Once he sat down, Izuku said, "Well I wanna reduce the stress in the ligaments of my arms when I utilize my quirk."

"Ah yes, you have a power type quirk. I remember now, very destructive," Mei said as she started to write things down on the notepad.

"Yeah it needs to be able to take a lot more power than it does currently, cause if things continue as is, I might lose function of my arms," Midoriya stated in a somber tone.

"Woah there, don't be so dramatic, I doubt it's that bad," Hatsume said before giving a soft chuckle.

Izuku off his right glove and rolled up his sleeves to show his hand before saying, "I'm quite serious Hatsume-san."

Mei put down her pencil and notepad and took off her gloves. She then quickly approached Izuku and started feeling the scars on his right hand. The whole process made the boy freeze.

"I see, I see. You weren't joking Midoriya-san." The pink haired mechanic then made her way to to the boy's abs and chest with her hands, feeling every crook and cranny of his muscles. Midoriya didn't know whether he should scream in protest or let her do her job. She eventually said, "You are built stronger than you look Midoriya-san."

A loud and irritated voice then echoed throughout the room, "Personal space Hatsume-san!" It was Power Loader. He then proceeded to slam the front door. The pro hero said, "Do you want me to ban you from this workshop? That's not how we treat a fellow student or future customer!"

Mei then took her hands to start feeling Izuku's legs as she said, "Relax. I'm almost done."

Power Loader started to make his way over to his student but she backed off before he got too close. She then said, "No violence sensei," while pointing a finger at him.

The excavation hero grunted before stating, "Explain yourself."

Hatsume sighed in annoyance as she explained, "Midoriya-san said his arms and hands are at risk of becoming useless if he pushed himself too hard. So I was checking the condition of his other muscles and they seem in tip-top shape." She then turned to her shivering guest as she said, "So why not just use your other muscles more often Midoriya-san? You know, even out the stress and all."

The pro hero then argued, "You couldn't have just asked him if he had a toned body besides just his arms?"

Mei replied, "I haven't known Midoriya-san very long but I can tell he is too modest when it comes to his own strength. If I asked I'm sure he would have downplayed how strong he was, so I needed to check myself."

While the two argued, the girl's advice got Izuku out of his funk and made him think. He then spoke up and said, "So, like use my legs Hatsume-san?"

"Yeah, that should work," Mei responded with a big grin and thumbs up.

"I can't do that I have to focus on-," Midoriya tried to say but then cut himself short. All Might's words came roaring back into his head.

 _You are still trying to imitate me._

That's it, Izuku thought. All Might's style focused on punches, why couldn't he just focus on kicks? And in theory, weren't his legs stronger than his arms? People walk on with their legs all day, so they are naturally stronger and have more endurance than one's arms. This was the answer. All Might wanted his successor to be different than him. Independent. Someone who made decisions for himself and was his own type of hero. Not just follow his idol blindly. And with this method, he could be just that.

"Never mind that last thought Hatsume-san, you're a genius," the boy exclaimed.

Hatsume beamed as she answered with, "As if there was ever any doubt."

Power Loader then said, "Don't encourage her too much."

Midoriya then reached down into his pocket and grabbed his phone. Before dialing a number he said, "Excuse me a moment. I need to make a call."

* * *

Izuku was currently sprawled over one of the couches in the lounge of his new dorm. He had only gotten out of the shower a few minutes ago and was fighting to stay awake, but he wanted to speak with Minoru tonight. It would have to wait till later Midoriya figured, as he wanted to do it in his roommate's place to make it more private. He had a feeling that calling the short student out in front of others would be counterproductive in trying to get an apology.

Izuku was happy about one thing though. He had a new suit design awaiting approval. Midoriya had spent quite some time on the phone speaking with Ida about combat that focused on the legs. With this new knowledge in mind, he worked with both Hatsume and Power Loader to draw up additions to his hero costume. The pro hero said he would need to wait three days for an answer before he could implement the changes, which Midoriya was fine with. It at least gave him a couple of days to try and adjust to his new suit and style before the exam. Izuku's plan for the days leading up to this was to observe and talk with Tenya to better learn leg based combat.

The tuckered out teen's thoughts were cut short when he felt something plop next to him. It was Mashirao, who stated, "Dude you look terrible, did Hagakure-chan rip into you that bad last night?"

Izuku looked around to make sure no one was in range to hear anything, only to see Mezo and Fumikage talking to one another at a dining table. He then answered with, "I mean she was harsh with me but I deserved it, every last bit. But it's more staying up late last night and our training earlier that's got me so tired."

"Oh right, you took returning back to training slowly so not to push yourself. I guess your body is just adjusting to things getting back to normal," Ojio stated as he crossed his arms.

Midoriya sighed as he replied with, "Pretty much. Plus I spent quite some time this afternoon working on some changes to my hero suit."

The tailed teen leaned closer to his friend and then asked, "Oh cool, what do you have cooking up for yourself?"

Izuku waved his left hand with little effort as he stated, "I want it to be a surprise to everyone. It should be ready in a couple of days I hope."

Mashirao gave a slight nudge with his elbow to his exhausted friend before half-jokingly asking, "Even your girlfriend?"

Midoriya then recalled everything that led to his decision with Hatsume's "help", and then what Hagakure would think about it if had to explain it. He then responded with, "Yeah, even her."

"Well, I'm looking forward to it anyways," Ojiro said with a hint of excitement as he leaned back to his side of the couch.

The two then went into a discussion of how they spent the rest of their summer break. Afterward, they spent a few minutes in silence watching Momo and Kyoka at the kitchen making dinner for themselves. Mashirao had an odd look of confusion on his face during this, and Izuku guessed he was still apprehensive about the tall girl's proposal from before the summer break.

Sato then came down from downstairs and took a seat on the couch beside Midoriya and Ojiro.

Mashirao then stated, "Man you look worse than Midoriya-kun, Sato-san."

Rikido looked woozy and was clutching his stomach with one hand. He replied with, "Yeah, I might have over did it today. The idea of making a super move got the best of me I guess. It would be so cool to have one."

"Sounds like you struggled as I did," Izuku said with a groan.

Sato gave a pathetic nod before answering with, "Yeah, I fell flat on my face is more like it."

Ojiro then asked, "What were you trying to do?"

"Well after consuming sugar I have a set strength increase and a time limit to use it if I use my quirk under normal conditions," Rikido explained.

Despite his exhaustion, Izuku sat up and suddenly asked, "Sorry, but do you mind telling me more what those limits are? I've never actually heard you talk about your quirk in detail Sato-san."

The sugar quirk user looked surprised at the additional question but responded with, "Well it's nothing flashy. When I eat ten grams of sugar my strength quintuples for three minutes, and for every ten grams I eat after that, it adds another three minutes."

The tailed teen then pointed to the new arrival and stated, "But it tires you out the more you use it."

"To the point that it makes me sleepy, yeah. I just got back from a nap but I got up cause I didn't want to accidentally just fall asleep completely and throw off my sleeping schedule," Sato explained slowly and as if it took a lot of effort. He then rubbed his eyes and straightened himself up before saying, "But anyways the only thing that came to my head for a super move was to perhaps push myself to use more strength than normal, even if it cost me time to use my quirk. I mean my quirk naturally just makes me stronger when I consume sugar. I've never tried to draw more strength from it, just extend the time I can use it before I get too tired to fight. And I was able to do it but the time drain it had on me was too much and I immediately collapsed after lifting two dumbbells a few times."

"So you weren't kidding when you said you fell on your face," Ojiro said.

Again, Rikido gave a pathetic nod. He then said, "I tried it again multiple times after that but it just became even less efficient."

Izuku put a hand up to his chin as he stated, "Sounds more like a finishing move more than a super move if it drains you so much."

Sato's entire body slouched as he replied, "I know and I feel so lame because of it. I finally get an opportunity to maybe stand out for once with my quirk but I kneel and fall over like nothing."

Midoriya stood up with his fists clenched as he said, "I'm sure if you keep working on it you'll get used to it. You won't know if you don't try Sato-san."

This startled Rikido at first but he then responded with, "Thanks Midroiya-san. I'll keep working at it and see if there's any improvement. Though I'll try and not push myself as hard tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan," Mashirao stated as he sat up. He then pointed towards the kitchen and said, "Now if you don't mind me I'm gonna grab some grub. Wanna join me you two?"

"I would but my stomach is still feeling awful at the moment," Sato said while clutching his chest.

"I'm not quite hungry yet Ojiro-kun," Midoriya stated.

Ojiro shrugged as he said, "Suit yourselves. Later."

After the tailed teen made his departure, Izuku sat back down and wondered what he could do while he waited. After a few minutes, he saw Tenya arrive and start making dinner for himself. Midoriya then looked back at Sato and an idea started to form in his head. He then got up and sat next to Sato and asked, "Hey Sato-san I wanna pitch you an idea. You can say no and I wouldn't think any less of you if you did, okay?"

Rikido raised an eyebrow before asking, "Go ahead, I guess."

Izuku then explained, "Tomorrow is Ida-kun's birthday. My friends and I don't really have anything planned for it but thinking about what happened yesterday night gave me an idea. Is it too much to ask for you to bake a cake for him?"

The sugar quirk user scratched the back of his head as he said, "Oh right. I won the best room competition yesterday, didn't I? But do you really think my cooking was that good? It's just something I do to go along with the nature of quirk."

Midoriya put a hand on the shoulder of his tall classmate as he said, "You got my girlfriend to vote for you, over me. I think that should tell you something about how good you are at baking." Now the reason why Tooru didn't vote for him was probably cause she was angry with him, but Rikido didn't need to know that.

Sato crossed his arms as he said, "Well, I'm not against the idea. But I'd like more to go on. Like what kind of cake would Ida-san like? How big do you want it? Do you want me to just give it to him or we going to surprise him with it?"

Midoriya hadn't thought about all of this yet. As he pondered this, he saw Uraraka and Asui enter the common room together and knew just what to do.

* * *

It was early in the night, and Izuku was standing in front of his Minoru's door. He had been replaying what he wanted to discuss with his roommate for the last minute while he stood there. Just minutes ago Midoriya had seen Mineta retire upstairs and figured it was time to confront him about yesterday. After a few deep breaths, he knocked on the door. Almost immediately he heard a scared voice say, "Who are you, and what do you want?"

Izuku was perplexed why Minoru sounded so spooked. Did he figure that this was going to happen? Was he afraid of the consequences? Regardless, Midoriya replied, "It's Midoriya, Mineta-san."

The door then opened and revealed Mineta clutching his chest with a fearful look on his face. He then said, "Dude you scared the shit out of me. All the sudden I heard a gibberish outside my door a minute ago, and I thought I was about to be assaulted by a ghost or something."

Izuku put a palm to his face realizing what he must have done. "Sorry, I must have been mumbling outside your door," he explained apologetically.

Minoru sighed before asking, "Why were mumbling though?"

"I was going over what I wanted to discuss with you in my head, and that sometimes happens when I think too hard I guess," Midoriya said with before making an awkward chuckle.

With a puzzled look on his face, the short teen asked, "You wanna talk? About what?"

Izuku crossed his arms and said with confidence, "Mineta-san, it's about what you did in Hagakure-chan's room yesterday."

It took a second for Mineta to realize what his guest was talking about, but eventually, the gravity of the situation could be shown on his face. He then asked in a low voice, "You're not gonna yell at me, are you?"

"Mineta-san I said I just wanted to talk. Had you done that to anyone else's girlfriend I'm sure there would have been a lot of yelling amongst other things, but I think we can solve this peacefully," Izuku explained.

"Alright, come in then Midoriya-san," Minoru stated in reluctant acceptance.

Before this point, Mineta had the lights off inside his room, and Midoriya was unable to get a good look at the inside. He also remembered last night that this room was one of the few that didn't get displayed. None of the girls wanted to see what was inside after he had creepingly invited them all in. Izuku was both intrigued but also not surprised at the sight he saw. It was somewhat similar to his room if he replaced all his All Might stuff with female pro heroes. Posters, figurines, and hero magazines featuring Midnight, Mt. Lady, Ryukyu, Uwabami, Ms. Joke, the female members of the Pussycats, and other heroines were scattered around his room. There was also a beefy looking computer and there a large bookshelf full of manga to its side. The bookshelf had a rolling ladder, which Midoriya found was cool but practical as well.

Mineta hopped up to his computer chair and then stated, "Alright let's hear what you gotta say."

Midoriya took a few more steps forward until he was in the center of the room and replied, "First I wanna know why you did it."

The short teen gave a dumbfounded look at his guest before saying, "Uh, I like girls. Duh?"

Izuku shook his head and said, "Obviously. But why did you only try and sneak a peek at Hagakure-chan's u-underwear? And please be honest."

Minoru took a few seconds to think before explaining, "Well, I've already felt Jiro-san's wrath once before, so no point in poking that bee's nest again. Ida-san was standing in front of Uraraka-san's dresser the whole time, so I didn't get a chance. I was too busy trying to figure out Ashido-san's choice in style to even attempt to look in her room. Yaoyorozu-san's bed took too much room so we all couldn't go in there anyways. And Asui-san, of course, didn't let us see her room cause she wasn't feeling well."

Midoriya recalled Jiro was the one who caught Mineta peeking on the girls while they were changing out of their hero suits. It made sense that Ida would make sure the short teen wouldn't attempt to do the same thing to his girlfriend since they visited Uraraka's room after Hagakure's. Izuku had to admit, Mina's tacky sense of style for her room was jarring. He also agreed that there wasn't much room to move around at Momo's due to her vast bed.

However, Midoriya knew the real reason Asui didn't want to show her room. She was distraught because of everyone that went to rescue Bakugo. Tsuyu had been vocal at the hospital that they would be no better than villains if they worked outside the law. She felt she was harsh about it, but it was necessary to convince everyone not to go through with it. Yesterday morning, Asui was surprised to learn they did it anyway. She had felt worthless that she couldn't stop them and for the first time, didn't know what to say to her classmates. Tsuyu couldn't bring herself to interact with her classmates acting like it didn't happen. And it broke her heart. Uraraka had brought together everyone that went to rescue Bakugo after the room competition to have Asui explain this away from everyone else. Everyone apologized to her and promised to have things go back to the way they were before, as friends.

Minoru then asked, "Midoriya-san, you there?"

Izuku replied, "Oh sorry, I was lost in thought."

"I was just getting to why I was curious about Hagakure-san, and you were looking off into space," the short teen stated with concern.

Midoriya held up his hands and said, "I'm fine. Go ahead."

Mineta looked down at his hands and then twiddled his thumbs a bit before saying, "Well I mean you're her boyfriend, even you must be curious if she even wears panties or not."

Izuku's face went crimson at this but responded with, "It has come up once before. Why are you so curious about it?"

The short teen then explained with, "It was a few weeks after school started. I was walking to school, and it had been windy that day. Hagakure-san was a decent distance in front of me, and one gust caused her skirt to flutter, and well, I didn't see anything there to my surprise. Which got me to think, does she not wear any? Or was it just that day? I mean I guess it's not that bold of her to do if you consider that she used to just run around in the nude during our training exercises, but it's still pretty crazy."

As cliché as it was, Izuku saw his roommate's experience as a legitimate reason to wonder about such a thing. He then remembered Minoru asking about Tooru's floating panties when his relationship came to light his first night during the school summer trip. The guest then asked with dread, "You haven't told anyone about this have you?"

"I'll admit I was tempted to tell Kaminari-kun, but I wanted to be a hundred percent sure before I told him. I didn't wanna brag and turn out I was wrong," Mineta replied with a shrug. Then with a smirk, he then continued by saying, "But with the way you reacted, it sounds like it's true."

Midoriya groaned before saying, "Only when wearing skirts cause it would mean her underwear would get exposed easily if she wore them. And please don't tell anyone."

"Alright, I'll keep it between you and me then," Minoru stated with annoyance in his tone.

This confrontation wasn't turning out as well as Izuku thought it would. But that wasn't going to stop him; perhaps a different angle might work, he thought. He then asked, "Mineta-san do you know why our class didn't go to your room yesterday?"

It took a minute, but Minoru finally spoke up and said, "Cause I don't have many friends in our class."

Midoriya knew it was harsh, but he wanted to make a point and said, "And can you figure out maybe why you don't have many friends?"

The short teen groaned before saying, "Cause I'm very open about my, perversion."

Izuku took a few steps forward and got on one knee before saying, "Look Mineta-san. I'm not gonna say having an interest in girls is bad, I mean I have them too, but you can't be so upfront about it."

Mineta then argued, "And being a closet pervert is better?"

Midoriya held up his hands in defensive as he replied, "I'm just saying you should reign it in a little. Cause if you continue down this path, no one is gonna respect you whatsoever by the time we graduate."

After shooting him a concerned look, Minoru asked, "Why are you even bothering to talk to me then if I don't deserve it then Midoriya-san?"

Izuku then sat down before explaining, "Well for one; we're going to be working together for quite some time before we graduate. I'd rather we all be friends than shun someone if I had the option. Another reason is that I think when push comes to shove, you're a great hero Mineta-san."

"Okay, now I know you're bullshitting me on that second point," Mineta retorted.

Midoriya barked back, "I'm being sincere Mineta-san!" This seemed to get Minoru's attention, and Izuku continued by saying, "During the villain invasion me and As-I mean Tsuyu-chan would have been in a lot of trouble without your quirk. And I saw your fight against Midnight-sensei during the final exam. That was a good idea using Sero-san's tape to protect yourself from Midnight-sensei's quirk, even if it was risky."

Mineta sulked upon hearing this but then said, "You know, when Midnight-sensei had me cornered the thing that got me motivated to fight was when I was thinking about the brave and cool things you've done Midoriya-san."

Izuku smiled at this and then said, "And you did something brave and cool when you finally started thinking like a hero instead of just about girls for once."

The short teen had a face of defeat as he leaned into his chair. There was silence between the two for a while before Minoru spoke up and said, "Even if I stopped being myself, do you think the girls would eventually forgive me?"

"There's a possibility they wouldn't, considering everything you've already done," Midoriya answered bluntly. Mineta groaned at this and covered his face with his hands. Izuku then continued by saying, "But at least they might be willing to speak and work with you, not in disgust at least. And again I'm not saying you have to stop being you Mineta-san just tone it down a couple notches. It might take months, but I think if you work hard to restrain yourself somewhat your reputation in class would improve drastically."

Minoru continued to look down in the dumps but said, "You think it would get me more friends?"

"Of course! And to start you should probably apologize to Hagakure-chan, I bet she would appreciate that" Izuku stated cheerfully.

The short teen then got off his chair and made his way towards the door. As he passed Midoriya, he said, "I'll think about it." Izuku got up to leave, but before his host closed the door behind him, he heard him say, "Thanks for the advice Midoriya-san. I've got a lot to think about."

Success, thought Izuku as he opened the door to his room. It was a start, but he felt that he had gotten through to his roommate. Midoriya hoped Mineta would say something to Hagakure before school started up again.

Izuku had a lot to be excited about now. Tooru might be getting the apology she asked for, which might have her lift the ban on being intimate earlier. He had a new suit and style that would allow him to better use his quirk without damaging his arms further. And tomorrow he was looking forward to the surprise birthday for Tenya.

After asking Sato to bake a cake for Ida, Midoriya asked Uraraka for help. She was ecstatic about the idea and together with the three thought of a plan for the next day. Ochako then went off with Rikido to tell him what cake to make for Tenya. It was at this point that Izuku noticed Minoru retire upstairs.

Midoriya had only just started back at school, and things were looking up for the future. And he couldn't be happier.

* * *

 **Ugh, so two days late this chapter, sorry about that. The second scene really needed extra time for some major edits, as it was very difficult to write and went through multiple large changes over the last few days. Hope it came off as believable and genuine.**

 **Two milestones were passed this week. Cubicity passed 500 followers and 100 reviews! Thanks so much, everyone!**

 **The latter half of the chapter focused on side characters. It's not only a nice change of pace from the main six, but they are just some fun/interesting students that have little to no some screen time I feel I could expand upon.**

 **First up,** **Mei! Her intro with Izuku in this arc is different from the manga due to the events/reasons leading up to him seeing her. Also, she will be important going into nineteen and beyond. The other reasons I want to include her (minus plot) is that I just want to explore Mei's dynamic with Izuku in a non-romantic sense a bit but we only got an introduction so far.**

 **Next up, Sato! I mean whoever uses that guy in their story? Me apparently. I got plans for buff cake boy.**

 **Now let's talk Mineta. People hate him. LOTS of people hate him (and chapter 173 isn't helping). I get it, he's a huge open pervert. Many people also think Minoru was a wasted slot for class 1A. And with how many in the class would kill to even get even as much attention he has gotten in the manga ( _cough_ Tooru amongst others) I can also see that point. But Mineta is here to stay in canon and he has got some development in the final exam arc. I wanna add to that (cause the manga really hasn't since). Sure I dislike him but I can't relate to the sheer hatred that some people have for the guy. Like character death levels of hate. Yeesh. I'm not trying to say I'm gonna completely redeem Minoru either, he's gonna have to earn it and he's still gonna be himself, somewhat. Izuku's one of the few people that he is on good terms with (minus Denki but that's just further contributing to his problem). I just couldn't see Midoriya just blowing off Mineta for what he did in Hagakure's room. Sure he would call him out on it but I feel he would also give advice as well. It's just the kind of guy Izuku is.**

 **I made some major additions to chapter fifteen and seventeen in early February. For both, I wanted to add some scenes/references from the light novels to this story, and am hyped to add stuff from volume three (although celebrating Ida's birthday was already set up this chapter). The light novels are almost purely slice of life, just like the majority of this fic, so I felt compelled to at least use some of them if possible. Seventeen got some other additions as well, namely the talk between Ojiro and Midoriya before having lunch on his birthday, Uraraka's discussion, and the kiss at the end (I felt it needed more details). I'm usually not into adding too much after a chapter has published as that forces you guys to go back and read old chapters, but the stuff I added meant I didn't need to talk about it later (and could foreshadow stuff earlier). The only other place to fit it would be either this or the next chapter. Eighteen was originally just going to be the first two scenes but that turned out to be a lot shorter than I imagined so I took a part of nineteen and added it here. When looking at my outline for nineteen, I realized it was going to be huge. Covering the entire week of Super Training in one chapter just didn't seem like the best idea in the end.**

 **Night Foilage edited some more chapters. Here are the numbers of edits she did:**

 **4: 66 (10,359 words)**

 **5: 110 (11,093 words)**

 **6: 41 (7,900 words)**

 **Finally, I just want to clarify what's going on with my Tumblr account. In the last chapter, I was kind of vague at what I planned to do with it. I want to correct that. Every week I'll post on Monday and it will have two parts. The first part will be an update on Cubicity itself. Things like how far I am into the chapter, issues/fun things that are cropping up, or about edits that I did or are in process. The second part** **will have random facts about Cubicity, headcanons of BNHA, discussion of recent chapters of BNHA, or real-life shenanigans involving myself. I started the posts on January 29th, so there have been five posts as of posting this chapter. Post 1-3 cover how/why I came to write Cubicity. Post 4 covers why I use Japanese honorifics in this fic. Post 5 explains my views on the current new arc in the manga. Again my Tumblr account is the same name as mine here.**

 **Well, I'll see ya'll again with another chapter on April 1st (and no I am not fooling you)!**


	19. Improving Oneself

Chapter 19: Improving Oneself

"You're a strange person Midoriya-san," Mei said with a smile as she slapped Izuku's back. The boy didn't know if she was teasing him or if that was a compliment.

Power Loader then shouted from across the room, "And that's saying something when coming from you!"

Hatsume responded loudly, "Awww, thank you Maijima-sensei!"

The pro hero grunted before going back to his work.

It was currently Sunday, and Midoriya was with the two mechanics to see the construction of the additions to his suit. He had arrived about an hour ago, but they were busy working on another costume, so he waited patiently until they finished. Before Hatsume started the new soles for his boots, she asked why her guest had been coming the last two days.

Izuku felt indebted that she not only helped him come up with his new fighting technique but was helping build it as well. The last few days involved coming over and asking if he could help with anything, but now he somewhat regretted the idea. Mei strapped invention after invention to the poor boy to test them out, and more often than not they slightly injured or embarrassed him in the process. Luckily for him, Power Loader just asked him to help clean up, most of which was his student's mess.

Midoriya then asked, "What's strange about wanting to help someone?"

Hatsume explained, "Midoriya-san we make hero suit upgrades and redesigns all the time. More often than not we never even meet the person we're making it for and even if we do it's very brief. So for you to come here every day to help with other stuff is quite odd," she then turned and shouted over to her teacher, "isn't that right Maijima-sensei?"

Power Loader waved a hand lazily as he replied in a raised voice, "I'm not going to say no to help. Midoriya-san could become an honorary student of the Support Department if his sole job were to keep you occupied and cleaned up after you Hatsume-san."

Mei laughed before saying, "He's such a jokester. Honorary student? Whatever. I doubt you even know the difference between brazing and soldering," She continued to chuckle a bit before stating, "Well anyways, watch as I construct your new babies Midoriya-san!"

The next hour Izuku observed the pink haired mechanic craft his new shoe soles. Occasionally he asked a question about what she was doing, but eventually, she asked for silence, as she stated she works best when uninterrupted. When she finished, Hatsume then turned Midoriya over to Power Loader as she wanted to stress test the shoe soles in private.

The excavation hero was working on Midoriya's new gloves. They were thicker and longer than his previous pair. They also reached past the elbow. As the mechanic continued his work, the boy asked, "So do you two normally split the work?"

"Depends. If we have a lot of orders or requests then yes. I'll have my students share the work on the simple things. If not, then I do the work alone. Mei is an exception since she has the time to work on more difficult tasks. And right now we got quite a lot of work to prepare all the students that are trying to take the provisional license exam next Sunday. But when we do work together, I tend to work with the fabrics, and she does the metalwork," the pro hero answered.

Curious at how helpful she was, Izuku then asked, "Is Hatsume-san a good assistant?"

Power Loader paused to look at his guest and leaned in as he stated in a low voice, "Despite being high maintenance she's the best assistant I've ever had. But don't tell her that, it would bloat her head with more pride than I would know how to deal with."

"Yes sir," Midoriya stated with a nod.

The excavation hero looked back at his assistant before saying, "By the way, I appreciate you coming here. Hatsume-san needs some friends."

Izuku was taken aback at this and said, "You say that like she has none."

"She doesn't. It's one of the reasons she wanted to bunk up with me next to my workshop instead of with her other student's in the 1H dorm," the pro hero explained before getting up. He then said, "Excuse me, I need some more fabric to finish this, I'll be right back."

Midoriya pondered, did Hatsume truly not bond with any students since starting here? Sure her personality might be off-putting to those in the hero course, but there had to be more like-minded individuals in the support course. Mei living next to the workshop wasn't a surprise to Izuku though. She had told him the first day he came back after submitting his costume changes during a discussion between trying out her inventions.

Power Loader came back with some white cloth, and as he sat down, he said, "Alright this should do. Won't be too long till I finish your first glove."

The boy let the man work for a few more minutes before speaking up by asking, "Why do you think Hatsume-san has troubles with friends?"

"I've seen her up close for long enough by now. Hatsume-san is incredibly self-centered to her work. Plus she mostly ignores her classmates unless they are working on a project together. Even then, she tries to dominate the activity, and that usually doesn't sit well with her peers. Hatsume-san values her 'babies' over connecting with people," the excavation hero explained. He then reached and patted his guest's back before saying, "Hence why I meant what I said earlier about you coming here these last couple of days. She needs someone other than me to interact with, someone her age."

"Thank you, sir. I just felt indebted to her for helping me figure out how to change up my fighting style," Midoriya stated.

The pro hero gave a nod as he continued his work. Izuku watched as the teacher finished his first glove. As he prepared to start the other glove, Power Loader leaned in and asked in a whisper, "I know this might be too personal to ask, but you're not interested in her are you Midoriya-san?"

Izuku yelled, "WHAT!?"

This outburst got Mei's attention, and she asked, "Everything okay over there boys?"

The excavation hero coughed before responding with, "Just made a mistake on his glove, it's an easy fix though I got this."

The pink haired mechanic then stated in a teasing voice, "A mistake? That sounds uncharacteristic of you Maijima-sensei. Is your old age getting to you I wonder?"

Power Loader inhaled and exhaled slowly before saying in a harsh voice, "We all make mistakes Hatsume-san, especially you. Need I remind you of how many times you have triggered the fire alarm in here with your 'accidents'? Just get back to work."

Hatsume just chuckled at this and returned to her testing.

The pro hero turned to his guest and said in a calmer tone, "My birthday is next month, and she won't stop teasing me that I'm an old man since I'm forty. But anyways, keep it down will ya?"

"S-Sorry I didn't expect you to ask that. I mean I already have a g-girlfriend," Midoriya explained as he held up his hands defensively.

The excavation hero let out a chuckle before saying, "Really? Huh, kids these days. But anyways I was curious is all. I'm glad there's no alternative motive for you coming here. That kind of drama doesn't need to be here."

The boy remained quiet as Power Loader finished the second glove. He was trying to process the question of if he liked Hatsume. What would spawn such a question? She didn't seem like the type to be interested in romance, Izuku figured. Was there something that Mei's mentor knew about her past that would lead him to ask such a question?

"Alright that should do it," the pro hero stated as he got up to stretch. He then called to his assistant, "Hatsume-san ready to make his new kneepads?"

"Give me a minute, I need to make an adjustment here," Mei stated as was reheating a portion of Izuku's new shoe soles.

Midoriya got up as well and then asked, "Hatsume-san is making them?"

"Yes. Occasionally I have Hatsume-san do something outside metalwork as she needs to broaden her horizon. Though it's always under my supervision," Power Loader explained as he popped his fingers and wrists.

Izuku's phone then started to vibrate and looked to see his alarm was going off. He sighed in displeasure before saying, "Drat, is it that late already?"

The excavation hero asked, "Something come up?"

Midoriya nodded, and replied, "Yeah. I've been working in the evenings with one of my classmates who specializes in leg based combat. It's almost time for our meet up."

"I see. Already working on that new style of yours before we have your suit ready is a good idea. Welp, me and Hatsume-san will have everything ready to go tonight. Swing on by tomorrow morning to pick it up," the pro hero stated with a thumbs up.

Izuku thanked both mechanics and made a quick exit from the workshop. He didn't want to keep his class president waiting.

* * *

Ida asked with concern in his voice, "You sure you don't want me to at least observe you practicing?"

"I don't wanna burden you too much Ida-kun. We've been doing this special training every day since Thursday so I don't wanna burn you out," Midoriya responded while stretching his arms.

Tenya crossed his arms as he stated, "Okay, let's switch this around and apply that logic to you. Are you not pushing yourself too hard Midoriya-kun? You've been doing the super move training, visiting the support department, and then having my lesson every day."

The class president has a point, Izuku mused. He then replied, "It's just for another week. I got this."

Ida had just finished his lesson with Midoriya, and both were walking back to their dorm. The tall teen felt he had taught as much as he could and that all that was needed now was practice. Izuku didn't want to burden his friend anymore and had requested if he could practice alone.

The two boys entered their dorm only for Tenya to be quickly approached by Ochako. "You. Me. Cake. Now," she demanded as she attempted to pull him towards the kitchen.

Ida tried to argue by saying, "But I already had dinner before working with Midoriya-kun. I shouldn't snack before bed. It's terrible for one's metabolism."

"Nope. We are having some quality time together tonight, and it's going to be over some cake so come on you," Uraraka stated as she dragged her boyfriend to the fridge.

Midoriya could only smile at the two's antics. Ida's birthday on Friday had gone quite well, and then some. Ochako worked with Rikido to make Tenya a red velvet cake while Izuku told as many classmates as he could about the surprise the night before. After training the next day, everyone quickly showered and gathered up in the common room while they waited for Ida to finish showering. However, the finishing touches to the cake were taking longer than expected, but surprisingly Bakugo stalled the birthday boy long enough in the elevator for the surprise to be ready, though he did not attend the surprise.

But what caught everyone off guard was after Tenya blew out his candles. Ochako threw her arms around his neck and gave a big smooch on the lips, in front of everyone. The couple then revealed their relationship, much to Ida's embarrassment. Uraraka later told Midoriya that she couldn't wait any longer about keeping it a secret and devised her plan as she worked with Sato to make the cake. Waiting until the first day of classes just was too far away for her it seemed.

Once the two had grabbed the last two pieces of cake, Izuku grabbed a frozen meal so he could quickly prepare and eat it. He didn't have the time to prepare a proper meal. Tonight was going be his and Tooru's first video chat with their parents. Because U.A. hadn't started properly yet, they couldn't use the library for their video chat like they originally planned. The common room was out of the question as Midoriya wanted privacy, as was their own rooms for obvious reasons. Hagakure suggested they do it outside by the maple tree they had met at in the past. They were never told of having a curfew while on school grounds, so he was okay with the idea.

After heating up a chicken and veggies frozen meal in a microwave, Izuku looked around for a place to sit. He saw Minoru unenthusiastically poking some pasta and decided to take a seat across from him. As he sat down the short teen didn't seem to acknowledge the presence of his friend and continued to stare at the other side of the room. Midoriya followed Mineta's focus and saw Uraraka feeding Ida cake. The class president was flustered about it, and having Ashido and Yaoyorozu watching from the couch across from the couple probably wasn't helping.

"You know I do appreciate one thing about you and Hagakure-san over those lovebirds over there," Minoru stated, breaking the silence.

Izuku took a bite of chicken and swallowed before responding with, "And what's that?"

Mineta sighed before saying, "At least you two don't flaunt your relationship. You two act like you always did before the school trip, minus holding hands every once in a while." He then pointed his fork over yonder and continued with, "But these two have been insufferable since Friday."

Midoriya was about to reply back, but the short teen held up a hand and stated, "I know you're going to say I should be happy for them and all but how can I not be jealous? You get the mysterious beauty, and our class president gets the cute, wholesome girl." He then groaned softly before saying, "And the way they are acting is frustrating me to no end, and it's only been a few days. How am I gonna survive the rest of school like this?"

Izuku took a few more bites and thought of a proper response for a minute. He then swallowed before saying, "Consider this. They're happy they can finally spend time together without hiding their relationship for once. Given some time I'm sure their public displays will lessen. It might be a phase."

Minoru then asked, "Is that how you and Hagakure-san acted after the summer trip?"

"Sorta," Midoriya stated slowly. They didn't have the time to be open about being together considering everything that happened over the summer. But he felt that Tooru might have been clingy for a short while they were still at school. But Izuku also remembered that his girlfriend was still mad at him. He wondered, would things have been different in their public displays of affection if he had just been truthful from the start? At the very least the boy was glad they could hold hands. He had asked her on Friday about it and was surprised to be told yes. It was small, but it was something.

Mineta sighed and said, "Alright then I'll stop complaining about it. I should eat this before it gets too cold anyhow."

The two then ate in silence for a few minutes. Izuku was tempted to ask about apologizing to Tooru. He knew Minoru hadn't said anything yet, as she would have said something by now if he did. But Midoriya also didn't want to be too pushy. He knew it wouldn't be easy to change Mineta for the better in such a short amount of time and to rush it wouldn't help.

Another thought floated in Izuku's head as he ate. He missed eating with his main friends. Meals had been erratic since coming to the dorms. Some meals were delivered daily to their rooms since the cafeteria wasn't fully operational yet, frozen meals were also available in the fridge. Breakfasts were chaotic as it was a mad dash to grab food and prepare for the day, as training started early in the morning. Lunch was light and had been served in the gamma gym so they could get straight back into it. And Midoriya had dinner after almost everyone else because of his visits with Mei.

Once Minoru finished his meal he asked, "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, what you were doing up so late on our first night here?"

Izuku almost choked on his veggies at this and coughed for a few seconds as his short friend gave a concerned look. He cleared his throat before responding with, "You h-heard that?"

"I got up to go to the bathroom pretty late, and I heard voices coming from your room. It sounded like another guy, but I was too tired to check who," Mineta explained while poking his forehead with his eyes closed. He then continued with, "And I forgot about the whole thing after we had that talk in my room on Thursday."

Midoriya thanked the stars that his neighbor had only heard Ojiro's voice. He then stated, "That was me and Ojiro-kun just having a chat." Izuku hesitated a moment but decided it was best to be truthful, so he said, "I didn't tell him about me and the others going to rescue Kaachan, so he wanted to hear the whole story."

The short teen then asked, "He wasn't mad at you, was he?"

"Thankfully, no. He just wanted to know the details," Izuku stated before taking the last bites of his meal.

After finishing, Minoru then asked, "How about your girlfriend? Did you tell her about it before Aizawa-sensei told everyone?"

Midoriya could respond to the question, Mineta looked to his right and eyes widened. Midoriya looked to see what it was and saw Hagakure approaching the table. Once she arrived, she said, "You ready to go Midoriya-kun?"

Izuku thought, perfect timing Tooru! He then replied, "Yeah, just let me clean my plate and take a bathroom break. I'll meet you there afterward."

"Sounds good, see ya in a few minutes," Tooru responded cheerfully. She then made her way outside the building.

Minoru had a confused look on his face but before he could ask what was going on Izuku stated, "Bye!"

* * *

It was a warm and humid night, and Midoriya couldn't wait for cooler days. He had his fill of summer and was ready for the change in the season.

As Izuku approached the meeting spot, he couldn't precisely gauge how this would go. He made sure to tell his mom before leaving what she needed to do to set up the video chat on her end, so he didn't expect any technical difficulties. No, the issue was would their families get along. The primary factor being Tooru's mom. Midoriya had spent some time speculating ways her behavior could put off his mother, but in the end, he hoped their similar very clingy nature to their children would be a way for them to bond.

A shout from ahead got the boy's attention, "Izuku we only have a few minutes, hurry up will you!"

"Sorry," Izuku shouted back to his girlfriend as he increased his pace before taking a seat on the bench to the left of her.

Once he was seated, Tooru said, "Alright quick game plan before we start this. We won't mention your 'daring rescue,' but we got to be truthful about everything else going forward if they ask. The whole point of this is getting our parents to trust us being together in the dorms and to have faith that our school is looking out for us."

"And so they don't miss us so much, we can't forget that," Midoriya added.

"Yeah yeah, that too," Hagakure stated with a sigh. She then pulled her laptop out of her backpack and continued with, "So how'd your talk with the purple blob go?"

Izuku replied, "Well we were only chatting about Ida-kun and Uraraka-chan being open about their relationship."

Tooru exhaled loudly before saying, "So no mention of being sorry about what he did in my room."

"I don't wanna rush him Tooru, if I do I don't think it will help," Midoriya tried to argue. He had told Hagakure about confronting Mineta, and while she was glad to hear about it, she was waiting for results now. And so far there wasn't any to be shown.

As the invisible girl set up a webcam on top of her laptop, she replied with, "Well he's got a week before me, and the other girls have our go at talking with him. And it won't be a soft-spoken as your attempt was, that I can assure you."

Izuku groaned a bit before saying, "I know." While he waited for her to finish setting up, he then looked up at the Japanese maple tree above the bench. Since it was late summer, it's red samaras were less numerous. He then looked down at the ground to see that a decent number had fallen. A sign that summer was soon coming to an end.

"Alright, everything is set up on our end," Hagakure stated. She then placed her laptop to her right and scooted closer to her boyfriend. Midoriya then felt her grab his left arm and bring it around her waist. It startled him, but she was quick to say, "This is just for tonight."

Izuku knew it was too good to be true. He missed their hugs, and he hated to admit it, the kissing as well. It didn't help that the last time they were intimate was his birthday, over a month ago. He then gave a gentle squeeze which got a flinch out of her, but Inko's video feed coming online prevented her from saying anything.

Izuku's mom then said, "Oh hey there you two! Um, I see you. Can you see me? Can you hear me?"

"We hear and see you mom," the younger Midoriya stated.

Inko started to fan her face with her hands as she said, "Oh good. I was afraid I had forgotten one of your directions on how to do this." She paused for a moment before continuing with, "I guess I'm the first parent here. I don't see anything in the other window."

"My parents will be here soon. I bet my dad is just being slow is all," Tooru explained before laughing.

The older Midoriya twiddled her thumbs as she said, "To tell you the truth I'm nervous about meeting your parents Hagakure-san."

Izuku felt Tooru place her hand on his right leg and squeeze it slightly as she said, "No need to worry, I'm sure you'll get along fine with them."

Midoriya wondered, was his girlfriend just as worried as he was about what her mom might do?

Inko started to look around before stating, "Um where exactly are you-." However, she stopped when the other screen flashed on.

"Evening everyone," the older Hagakure stated, there was no sign of her husband, however. She paused to get a look at the other parent before saying in a polite tone, "You must be the boy's mother, it's a pleasure to meet you."

The other mother cleared her throat before replying, "Y-Yes, it's n-nice to meet you f-finally."

Tooru's mother then squinted her eyes before saying, "So looks like it's just us women tonight. It seems both our husbands are too busy to socialize with our children. Mine decided to pull an all-nighter with his work despite knowing well in advance what was happening today. Now he's sleeping like a rock. I wonder if he just overworked as an excuse not to do this." She paused and shook her head before asking, "And what about your husband?"

Inko's face clenched in shock upon hearing this.

Izuku almost immediately spoke up and said, "My dad is currently working overseas. It's way past midnight where's he's at, so he can't come online to do this I'm afraid." He then felt Tooru fidget, which concerned him.

"See now that's a worthy excuse, unlike my husband's," the red-headed women stated with a shrug.

The boy gulped before saying, "Alright then with that settled; I guess we'll start with what's coming up next Sunday for us."

"Before that," Mrs. Hakagure said bluntly and paused before asking, "Are you two outside?"

Tooru's shoulder's sagged as she asked, "We're still on school grounds, there's nothing to worry about mom."

The older Hagakure then asked another question, "Don't you kids have a curfew?"

"Only to be back on school grounds by seven," her daughter answered.

The red-headed women crossed her arms, "There should be one about staying in the dorms as well."

"I-I agree," Inko stated with a few nods.

Mrs. Hagakure grinned as she said, "Glad you and I see eye to eye Midoriya-san." She then turned her attention to the couple to state, "You kids don't need to be sneaking off to go do gods knows what late at night."

Inko blushed at this, and so did her son.

"Mother! Midoriya-kun is too much of a scaredy-cat right now to do anything drastic with me in that regards. You can trust us to keep our hands to ourselves," Tooru explained in an annoyed tone. She then took a deep breath to say, "Look we're out here tonight cause the library is closed. Once school starts properly, we'll be having our video chats from there and earlier in the day. Anyways can we please just update you both on everything that's happening here, so we don't have to stay up too late?"

Izuku didn't know whether to be bothered by what his girlfriend had just said or if she had just said that as a retort to her mother. He knew what she said was a hundred percent true she but the statement got him to worry that perhaps Tooru saw that as a flaw. Hagakure had pointed out in the past whenever Midoriya had acted boldly. Did she want more from him? Did the girl see things as one-sided in their romance? The boy wanted to ponder the thought longer, but the fact he had been "banned" from physical interactions for the time being put a dampener on that.

Tooru's mom then grunted before saying, "Alright, fair point. So what's so important that is happening next weekend dear?"

Izuku then thought, wait does she think I'm too much of a scaredy-cat to be bold with her daughter as well?

Either way, the two then went over the hero provisional license exam and everything they were doing to prepare for it. Izuku explained his costume upgrades and the change in his fighting style, which he had dubbed as Shoot Style. Tooru then revealed her work on a better version of her father's technique of manipulating light, which she called Light Refraction. Her boyfriend was interested in seeing it, but for now, the description of its intensity compared to her dad's version satisfied him enough for the time being. The younger Hagakure also explained her new shoes that came with her suit, saying they were slip resistant and canceled out most sounds made when walking and even running on most surfaces.

As they explained, Midoriya realized they hadn't told each other that much about their training the last few days. They weren't acting distant with one another it was more he had been so busy to have time to sit down and talk. Sure Izuku had given some details to Tooru but looking back they hadn't spent that much time talking to one another the last few days. Just another week of this, and then things will hopefully go back to normal, he hoped. But he then realized this also hinged on Mineta apologizing to Hagakure. If the short teen didn't then things might be rocky for longer than Midoriya had hoped.

"While this has all been quite interesting I do find this provisional license quite odd," Mrs. Hagakure stated tapping her cheek with her index finger.

Tooru sighed as she responded with, "What is it now mom?"

"I've read the U.A. student handbook plenty of times, and they mention such an exam is given to second and third years, not first years like yourselves," the red-headed women explained.

Inko then spoke with, "It does seem off to have them doing something this big so early in their schooling. Shouldn't they have more time to prepare?"

The older Hagakure nodded as she replied, "Exactly. So why the change?"

As everyone paused a moment to think why, a memory flashed into the younger Midoriya's mind.

 _You kids in 1A have gone through a lot these last few months, more than a typical semester at U.A. should be._

It happened during Tooru's birthday, while she was shopping for her new swimsuit. Eraserhead had confronted Izuku about what he and his friends had been doing. Between the villain invasion at the USJ and the Hero Killer incident, Aizawa was quite right to say this, the boy thought. And this was before running into the then puppet leader of the League of Villains while shopping, the attack in the forest during the summer school trip, the rescue of Bakugo afterward, and the events that led to the retirement of All Might.

"Our homeroom teacher, Aizawa-sensei once told me that our class has gone through more than most students do in the hero course in any semester. And this was before everything that happened during the summer break," Izuku explained while cupping his chin with his free hand. He paused for a moment before stating, "I think he and the rest of the teachers here at U.A. think because of all we've been through, we should be prepared to pass this exam, even if we are first years."

Midoriya felt Hagakure shift around as she asked, "When did he tell you that?"

Izuku scratched the back of his head as he answered with, "Oh, uh during one of my days of detention the week before the finals." Again with the lying, he thought, but he swore to his homeroom teacher that he wouldn't mention their talk. Though Midoriya sort of did, but not the central part of their conversation.

Mrs. Hagakure raised an eyebrow as she asked, "Detention? What were you in detention for?"

"I'll tell you later mom, I promise, but this isn't the time to discuss this," Tooru stated with a hint of anger.

Izuku had forgotten that his girlfriend wasn't as open about what happened at school to her parents as he was with his mom.

After a few seconds of silence, Inko said, "Uh, so how about you two describe what your dorms are like. Are you and your friends comfortable with the living arrangements?"

The next couple of minutes were spent answering this question. Izuku had no problems with the dorms. Tooru, however, voiced having a few small issues. Particularly wanting another refrigerator, a larger bathroom, and saying she didn't like the showers. Everything else had been quite positive between the two, which satisfied their mothers.

The younger Hagakure then said, "And that should about do it. Any last questions?"

"Well, not for you two. I do have one for you Midoriya-san," the red-headed women stated.

The older Midoriya fidgeted a bit before asking, "S-Sure go ahead."

"We really should meet up and get to know each other better. Might I suggest over a drink," the other mother gleefully.

Tooru gave a slight groan to this.

Inko gave an awkward chuckle before responding with, "I'd prefer we talk over tea if possible. I don't drink alcohol."

Mrs. Hagakure paused before she replied, "Okay then, I understand. I'll have to find a place that can give us both what we want. Anywho, been a pleasure to meet you." Her tone then changed to be a bit blunt as she said, "And stay out of trouble kids." Her feed went dark, signaling she had ended the video chat.

The invisible girl was quick to say, "I'm sorry if my mom seemed rude at all Midoriya-san. She means well but comes off as brash sometimes."

"It's fine Hagakure-san. I can see what you mean but she sounds like a caring parent, and I look forward to meeting her later over this drink," Inko responded with a smile. She then waved as she said, "Have fun you two and stay safe." Then she logged off as well.

Tooru let out loud sigh as she removed the webcam and closed her laptop. She then got up and paced back and forth while saying, "That could have gone worse."

Izuku then said, "I think it went well, all things considered. I mean your mom, was your mom, but I think we can continue doing this without much issue."

"I know, but she stresses me out when she gets all overbearing. I mean we're both sixteen now, not little kids," Hagakure stated before sitting down again.

As his girlfriend put her laptop away into her backpack, Midoriya said, "If we both get our provisional licenses next Sunday, I'm sure that will help convince your mother think we're more mature than she thinks."

The invisible girl huffed, "Maybe." She then chuckled before saying, "Though she seems to think we need a curfew, so we don't feel each other up."

Izuku felt a blush coming on as he said, "Y-Yeah that, was v-very left field of her to say."

The boy felt Tooru place a hand on his shoulder as she said, "Maybe not now, but one day it might be the norm for us."

Midoriya froze at this which got a laugh from his girlfriend.

Hagakure shook him slightly as she stated, "I'm just joking Izuku, lighten up will ya?"

Even if it was a joke, what she said wasn't precisely a falsehood. And that thought was the reason the boy was having a slight panic.

"But anyways," Tooru started to say but paused. After a few moments of silence, she then asked, "Izuku, do you mind if I ask you about your dad?"

This immediately squashed the mature themes Midoriya had floating in his head and brought another wave of stress. After a long sigh, he asked, "W-Why?"

Tooru hesitated but eventually said, "Well I mean, I've never seen him. You and your mom haven't mentioned him either. I almost thought he was dead or something until you come over to my place. Other than you mentioning his quirk during dinner and being overseas today, I don't know anything else about him."

Izuku was still at a loss for words at what to say and remained silent.

"Look you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I mean if it's heavy family stuff I can understand not wanting to talk about it," Hagakure tried to explain.

Midoriya took a few deep breaths before saying, "Well there isn't that much to say." He paused before continuing, "He hasn't been here for me. It's just been me and my mom for a long time. So I don't have much desire to talk about him."

Izuku felt Tooru grab his right hand before saying, "Okay. That's enough for me. You don't have to say anything more about it for now."

Midoriya gave a slow nod. He then said, "I'll tell you the whole story someday, I promise."

"I look forward to it," Hagakure replied with a comforting voice.

* * *

It was late afternoon on Monday and Izuku was again waiting for All Might in gym gamma. Today he would officially begin his one on one training with his idol.

Class 1B had reserved the gym that afternoon, so Midoriya decided to work out in a different gym as he waited. He came back after a few hours to find that no one was there. Izuku then received a text from All Might saying he'd be there in a few minutes.

While the boy sat there, he couldn't keep himself from smiling. The upgrades to his suit had been spectacular and beyond his imagination in its usefulness.

Today Midoriya was able to show off and test his new costume gamma. Being able to finally apply his training with Ida and for it to work well was a tremendous feeling. Especially since he used it to save his mentor from harm. While Bakugo was testing out a new super move it blasted some debris towards All Might. At the last second, with a swift kick, Izuku was able to knock it away, impressing all that saw it. The former pro hero looked at his student with pride and later told him in private to stay after training so they could begin getting serious. This was before Vlad King and his students from 1B came claiming they had reserved the gym for the afternoon.

Izuku was happy to hear a voice from across the gym say, "Afternoon my boy, hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long."

"Nope. I've only been here a few minutes sir, and thanks for doing this again," Midoriya stated cheerfully.

"That's the spirit. I would have been here on time but I spent the last couple of minutes locking all the entrances so we could train done in private," All Might said while ruffling his student's hair with his free hand, as he was still had a cast on. He then raised an index finger and asked, "Before that though, I wanna hear how you came up with this new style of fighting."

Izuku was more than happy to explain getting the idea from Mei, training with Tenya, and practicing on his own to prepare his Shoot Style for today.

After the boy finished, the former pro responded with, "It's nice to see you coming into your own than just trying to be just like me. I appreciate how much you look up to me boy, but you need to be your own man, your own hero. And today was a good second step towards that goal."

Midoriya gave a puzzled look before asking, "What do you mean by a second step?"

The skeleton of a man put his free hand on his student's shoulder as he said, "Well the first way you differentiated yourself from me was involving yourself so deeply with Hagakure-san."

Still confused, Izuku asked, "I still don't follow sir."

All Might responded with, "My boy, I took the mantle of the symbol of peace on my lonesome. All the burdens that came with such a position I endured on my own, for better and for worse. At the time I felt no one else should have to shoulder such a monumental task. But looking back, maybe I should have had someone to help, seek comfort, or even just talk to. I had plenty of pro heroes that looked up to me but no real friends or loved ones minus my master, but she is no longer with us."

The former pro hero then took a few steps towards a bench near the wall and took a seat. After a heavy sigh, he continued with, "My recovery after my first battle with All for One truly tested my limits as a hero and as a person. All the pain, stress, and fears that I had at the time could have been lessened if I just learned to trust another. But I just pushed what few allies I had at the time away and limped forward stubbornly without them like it was the only option. I deeply regret those decisions now."

The teacher gave a beaming grin towards Izuku before saying, "But it hasn't even been a year at U.A., and you have made quite a partner. She's embraced what you are and has been more than willing to help you along your path towards the new symbol of peace. And then, of course, you have all your other friends. An amazing start really, and light years ahead of what I had."

Midoriya took a seat next to his mentor as he tried to process what was just said. His previous thoughts about All Might's loneliness had turned out to be true. Izuku was glad he had Tooru to help him through all of this and to think what it would be like alone, was hard. But he was still in training, and it had only been doing this for some months. But the former symbol of peace had been doing this for many years on his own. Just what hell did he go through during all this time Midoriya couldn't fathom.

After a few minutes of silence, the boy spoke up and said, "I'm sorry I asked. I had no idea that would bring back such painful memories."

"It's all fine; it's best you knew anyway," All Might stated as he scratched his chin.

A few moments passed before Izuku asked, "So is there going to be other steps or something?"

The former pro hero tilted his head slightly as he replied, "No idea. I haven't thought that far."

The student gave a perplexed look at his teacher as he said, "Wait. What? You don't have a plan after this?"

"Well, I'm still learning how to teach my boy, you can't rush these things," All Might responded as he leaned back into the bench.

"But I think you're a great teacher Yagi-sensei," Midoriya proclaimed with his fists raised.

This got statement got a laugh out of the skeleton of a man before he said, "I was wondering when you were finally gonna start using my real name. Hagakure-san said it before even you."

This got a blush from Izuku, but the former pro then stood up and straightened out his back before saying, "But seriously. I've had no experience teaching another before coming to this school. I've been winging most of this as things went." He then pulled a paperback book from his back pocket and placed it on his student's lap.

Izuku's mouth was agape when he saw it's title, Teaching for Idiots. He did find his idol's teaching methods as odd but thought it was his unique style, not that he was inexperienced.

Yagi turned towards the boy and stated, "But I think we can help each other Midoriya, my boy. You'll get the one on one training that you desire, and I'll learn how to better teach you and the other students at this school. Okay?"

Midoriya gave a nod and set the book to his side before saying, "I understand sir. I hope we both improve to the best of our abilities."

"Now that's what I want to hear," All Might proclaimed as he flexed his free arm. He then lowered his arm and said, "But to better answer your question from earlier, there might be another step to being different to me, but who knows? Maybe we'll think of one as we work together. But for now, let's focus on improving the first two steps."

Scratching his head, Midoriya asked, "How are am I going to improve the first step exactly?"

The former pro hero gave a blank stare as he replied, "Well get closer to Hagakure-san, obviously." However, once he noticed Izuku's reaction to this, he continued by saying, "Woah now, not like that. What I meant was she is still mad at you for keeping your rescue of Bakugo-san a secret, no?"

Midoriya's blush faded as he answered, "She is." He didn't want to explain what his punishment was and how he was trying to remedy it.

"Then consider it homework outside our training here to remedy that. I want you two to be on the best of terms with another for both your sakes," All Might stated.

This ironic nature of this unorthodox homework being assigned by his mentor, the one who had previously said he wouldn't be able to give good advice on how to deal with women, was not lost to Izuku. However rather than chuckle at the premise, he brushed it aside in his mind and responded with, "I'll get right on it."

"Good, now I want to see your Shoot Style up close, let's see what you've learned from Ida-san," the former pro stated while clenching his free fist.

Midoriya activated Full Cowl before saying, "Can do!"

* * *

Midoriya, Ida, and Sato were all sitting on one of the couches in the lounge room for their dorm. They all had odd looks on their faces. The last hour had been, entirely different than what they were used to.

It all started with Izuku coming back from training to hear Tooru yelling about seeing a peeping tom from the entrance hall window. The boys that were there immediately thought it was Minoru, but he was innocently taking a relaxing bath at the time. Everyone there was then surprised to hear a knocking at their front door and even more so when it was Neito Monoma on the other side.

The student from 1B had peeked through the window to see if anyone was home and despite Ida's accusations, he ignored him. He stated he wanted to compare 1A's dorms with his own class and was able to convince the class president to see some of the boy's rooms. Midoriya had guessed he wanted to see if 1A had gotten any special treatment.

Neito was quick to notice the lack of differences after a few rooms and seemed disappointed upon learning this. Suddenly three other students from 1B arrived; Kendo, Tsunotori, and Tetsutetsu. They had come over to see if their classmate was up to no good. Kendo was ready to drag Monoma back to their dorm, but Sato and Yaoyorozu arrived to serve treats and black tea respectively which changed her mind. One thing led to another and Monoma was then showing off pictures he had taken of 1B's room during their first night together. The one bedroom that intrigued Izuku was Pony's, not really because what was in it, minus a rare imported All Might figurine she had, but the reaction it got out of Tooru. The horse girl's room was similar to Izuku, though her obsession was anime. Hagakure recognized one of the anime as one of her favorites and the two girls bonded quickly because of it. Midoriya noted that he could do something akin to this subject to later bond with his girlfriend.

Once Neito had some snacks he wanted to leave, but Mashirao and Denki blocked the exit. They wanted to know his real motives for coming, which he wouldn't state. They then challenged him to a contest which Monoma gladly accepted. The stakes were if 1B won, 1A would admit they were inferior. And if 1A won, Monoma would explain why he had come. However, no one could decide on what to do until Todoroki got an idea and came back with a barrel-like toy he got from Hatsume a few days earlier. In the end, 1A won the game using the device, and Monoma reluctantly agreed to tell everyone.

Izuku recalled the explanation word for word in his head.

 _Alright fine, I'll tell you._

 _Ojiro-san and I went to school together before coming here. He was different back then than he is now, and I thought it was because of his classmates here who might have changed him. So I wanted to learn more about them and see how you all interacted. You all are a tight bunch, it reminds me of my class._

 _So now we both have the answer we wanted. Happy?_

After the 1B students left, everyone there looked to Mashirao to ask what that was about. His answer didn't seem to help.

 _Man, I don't understand what's been going with him as of late. If I knew I would tell you I promise, but ever since we both got suspended he's been acting weird._

The tailed teen then retired to his room, and most of everyone else scattered to do other things.

After a few minutes of silence after the ordeal, Ida then spoke up by saying, "I'm thinking of talking to Kendo-san the next chance I get to see if she can shed any more light on what this was all about."

"I don't blame you, that was weird," Sato said while crossing his arms. He then gave a small smile before saying, "I'll admit I liked having them over though."

This perplexed Izuku, and he asked, "What do you mean Sato-san?"

Rikido answered with, "Well I mean we never really get to interact with other classes that often. We have some tension between 1B because of Monoma-san, and I think it shouldn't be like that, you know? Who cares about some dumb tradition that both classes being at odds. We're in the same school and all we shouldn't be so distant with the other first years. Doing things like we did today again would be a good thing I feel."

Tenya then stood up and raised his arms in the air and said, "That's a brilliant suggestion! And I got just the idea on how to get this to work!" The tall teen then stepped aside and took out his phone. As he typed away, Midoriya and Sato gave each other confused looks. Ida then put his phone away with a big smile on his face and said, "Well I've set things in motion. Stay here Sato-san, if you please." The class president then left and went upstairs.

About a minute passed before Yaoyorozu showed up looking quite excited. She sat down across from the boys and then said, "Ida-san just gave me the news. I think it's a wonderful idea Rikido-san."

Sato then asked, "Thanks but why did Ida-san call you over here Yaoyorozu-san?"

"Oh because we plan to work with Kendo-san and I am more familiar her than Ida-kun is," Momo replied.

Midoriya then spoke up and said, "I get it, you wanna set up something with 1B's class president."

The tall girl nodded before replying, "Yep. And for this to work, I'm gonna need to tell Sato-san everything I know about her that could be helpful."

The sugar hero was quick to stand up and say, "Woah now why am I doing this? You and Ida-san are our leaders, shouldn't you two do this?"

"Ida-kun figured Kendo-san would be more willing to do this if someone besides our class representatives approached her and proposed the idea. And we figured you would be the best choice as you saw how most of our class weren't exactly fond of Monoma-san's antics, especially Ojiro-kun. And for a good reason, but that's beside the point," the class vice president explained in a serious tone.

Sato sat back down with a worried look on his face, however, "Alright I'll do it. But do you mind telling me the details later? It's been a long day."

"Tomorrow it is then. Also, I think it would be best to propose this idea to Kendo-san after our provisional license exam. Asking her now might not be the best idea since we are all quite busy preparing for the exam," Momo said before standing up.

"Sounds good to me," Rikido replied while giving a weak thumbs up.

"You'll do fine Sato-san, I promise. Anyways, see you boys tomorrow," the class vice president stated and made her exit.

Rikido then put his hands on his face and groaned.

Izuku then asked, "Is everything okay?"

"I don't know man. I'm nervous about meeting Kendo-san all by myself," Rikido stated as he poked his index fingers together.

"Hey, I understand. I'm still quite nervous around girls, and I've got a girlfriend," Midoriya said before giving a light chuckle.

Sato shook his head before saying, "I have no problem being around girls, it's just when I'm alone with them something weird or embarrassing always happens to me. For example, a couple of things went wrong when Yaoyorozu-san and I were training together during the summer school trip. Though I'd rather not go into what happened."

Izuku put a hand to his chin before asking, "If it's such a problem then why did you agree to do it?"

"Cause I meant what I said earlier, the hero courses shouldn't be on bad terms with one another. And I think we can do something to be closer as a class. And if Ida-san and Yaoyorozu-san think I should be capable of doing that then I should trust in the faith they put into me to do it," Rikido explained in a solemn voice.

Sato's drive to do this surprised Midoriya but he was glad to hear it. He then said, "Well if you want I could join you when you go talk to Kendo-san."

Sato shook his head and replied, "Nah I need to do this on my own. Maybe all these bad things happen cause I think something will happen. You know, self-fulfilling prophecy and all that jazz. If I go determined and positive, maybe things will be different this time. And to do that I think I need to go alone, sorry Midoriya-san."

Izuku shook his hands and said, "It's fine Sato-san, I understand. Regardless I hope it works out, for all of us."

* * *

It was Tuesday afternoon, and Izuku was making his way back to the workshop. He couldn't wait to tell Mei that the additions to his suit had been perfect. Once he arrived, he knocked on the sliding door.

After a few moments, the door slid open with a confused and dirty looking Hatsume on the other side. She then asked, "Why are you here? You didn't come yesterday."

"Yesterday was very busy for me, I needed to rest was all," Midoriya explained.

"I thought you were done coming here after getting your suit upgraded," the pink haired mechanic stated as she leaned against the door frame.

Izuku immediately bowed upon hearing this and replied, "Oh I'm sorry if I gave off that impression Hatsume-san."

"It's fine," she said before grabbing the boy's collar. As she pulled him inside, she said, "You have good timing, I need you to clean up my recent experiment before Maijima-sensei comes back or he'll have an annoying fit about it."

Midoriya looked over the carnage. It looked like something exploded, there was shrapnel all over her workbench, a puddle of oil on the floor, and whatever she was working on was a mangled pile of scrap that was still sparking plus had smoke emitting from it. He then looked over at Hatsume and said, "Well I'm sure if we work together we can clean this up quickly."

Mei looked at her guest inquisitively and said, "We? Who's this we? You're cleaning it up. I got to log this failure while it's still fresh in my mind."

Izuku sighed heavily at this and started by wiping up the oil puddle. As he did, he noticed the pink haired mechanic would occasionally glance at him but quickly go back to writing on her notepad. What was she thinking, he wondered. Did it have to do with not coming yesterday?

Midoriya then collected all the metal scraps and put them into a recycle bin they had for any leftover metal. However, Hatsume kept whatever device had exploded, for future reference she said. Since she was still writing, Izuku decided to start doing a general sweep of the room but continued to notice her looking up at him.

It was starting to get to the boy and eventually he couldn't take it anymore and asked, "Hatsume-san is there something you wanna ask me? You keep looking at me, and it feels weird.

"You're the weird one. I just can't figure you out Midoriya-san," Mei stated as she placed down her notepad and pencil on the table next to her.

Izuku responded in an apologetic tone, "Is this about me not showing up yesterday? If so, I'm really, really sorry about it."

The pink haired mechanic shook her head before saying, "It's not about that. It's about you coming here in the first place."

Midoriya put aside his broom and then said, "I'm sorry I don't understand."

Hatsume crossed her arms before saying, "I already said it was very peculiar that you were coming to help us before we made all the upgrades to your costume. And you being here today makes it even more bizarre to me." She then squinted her eyes and continued with, "No one would do that unless they wanted something else."

The boy thought, was it that hard of a concept to see I want to be her friend?

Mei then pointed at her guest and stated, "You're too nice to wanna steal something from us so that can't be it."

Izuku sighed at this. This is going nowhere, he thought, and took a few steps forward until he was right in front of her and said, "Hatsume-san I just want to be friends with you."

The pink haired mechanic's eyes lit up, and she proclaimed, "Ah I get it now! You have a thing for me Midoriya-san." She then closed her eyes and nodded a few times before saying, "It all makes sense now."

Midoriya put a hand to his slightly blushed face and shook it a few times. She assumed this just like Power Loader, he thought.

"Okay, I didn't expect this kind of reaction," Mei stated as she tapped her cheek with her index finger.

After a sigh, Izuku said, "I'm not interested in you that way Hatsume-san. I already have a girlfriend anyways."

Hatsume replied, "Okay, that's illogical."

Midoriya was puzzled by this and asked, "What is?"

The pink haired mechanic leaned forward and poked Izuku in the chest before saying, "For you to have a girlfriend. I mean we're training to be or assist pro heroes. We don't have time to chase skirts Midoriya-san."

"I-I didn't c-chase Hagakure-chan's s-skirt," Izuku argued.

"It's just an expression. Anyways we got more important things to worry about than romance here at U.A., and that's why it's so perplexing to me that you have a girlfriend. You seem like you're always busy training, so it's baffling to me that you even have the time to have a partner," Hatsume explained. She then got off her stool and said, "Though I guess it puts me at ease to hear you didn't come here to try and ask me out or something. That's a load off my mind."

Now having calmed down, Midoriya responded with, "I am quite busy, but I do find time for my friends and Hagakure-chan. I mean I never thought I'd get a girlfriend here at all, but we sort of quickly became drawn to one another, and before I knew it, she confessed to me, and I said yes on her birthday. I'm sorry you can't see it as being a logical choice but I love her, and I can't see myself without her."

"Hey, chill I'm not saying you shouldn't be with this Hagakure-san," Mei stated while waving her right hand as if shooing something away. She then put a hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "I see it as counterproductive is all. But you've already made your decision so that I won't say anything more on the subject."

"Uh, thanks for understanding," Izuku answered. It wasn't the best response, but it was the best he could expect from her he figured.

The pink haired mechanic then put her arm around Midoriya and pulled him towards her. She was slightly shorter than him, and he was currently pulled down into a headlock. Hatsume then said, "But you wanna be my friend? Truly? I can be quite annoying to most people I hear."

"Y-Yes H-Hatsume-san," was all Izuku could muster. His left cheek was currently squished against her right breast, and his heart rate was in overdrive.

Mei then let him go and waited for him to breathe a little before saying, "No reaction huh? Alright, you check out."

Midoriya almost stumbled before asking, "W-Wait you did that on p-purpose?"

"Yep, just a little test. I mean if you did have an ulterior motive you would have taken advantage of that situation. Glad I can trust you Midoriya-san," Hatsume replied with a thumbs up.

"Power Loader is right, you need to learn about p-personal space Hatsume-san," the boy stated while rubbing his temple.

This got a chuckle from Mei, but she then said, "While I appreciate you being here, I think you shouldn't come here every day. I'm sure you could be spending your time training perfecting your new fighting style of yours than being here so much. Plus you can be quite distracting sometimes."

Izuku couldn't grasp what she meant by that last sentence but responded with, "Okay how about I come over once a week." He originally planned just to keep coming every day till the exam and then come every couple of days after that, but this worked for him too.

"Every Tuesday would work for me, but now that we're all cleaned up here I got a new power boot I wanna try. And lucky for us, it should fit your feet perfectly," Hatsume said with a devilish grin.

Midoriya sagged his shoulders but replied, "Alright let's see what they do."

The door then slid open, and Power Loader walked into the workshop. He was carrying a couple of building materials in a few plastic bags, and once he put them down on his workbench, he turned to see Izuku. He then said in a teasing voice, "Ah glad to see you here Midoriya-san. Hatsume-san was so worried that you would stop coming yesterday. It was so cute to see her concerned about you."

Immediately a chunk of metal flew over Midoriya's head and bounced harmlessly off the pro hero's helmeted head.

Maijima tone switched to anger as he said, "Hey, what was that for? You're the one that's always spouting no violence!"

Midoriya turned to see Hatsume with a slight blush. She didn't say anything as she stormed off to her room.

"Yeesh, can't take a bit of her own medicine," Power Loader said with a shrug.

* * *

Izuku was sprawled out on the couch in the common room of his dorm and was resting his eyes. It was Wednesday evening, and he had just gotten back from a long solo training session. Midoriya only had three more days to better adjust to his Shoot Style before the exam. He did appreciate having the extra time to practice now that he agreed only to visit Hatsume weekly.

The boy walked downstairs after having taken a shower, he only saw Shoji and Koda talking over dinner. Everyone else was either busy showering or already in their rooms.

Izuku was hoping to spend some time with Tooru and after waiting for almost thirty minutes decided to send her a text to see if she wanted to talk. As he got up, he was surprised to see Koji was standing near the couch, with no sign of Shoji being around. Midoriya then said, "Um, do you need something Koda-san?"

"S-Sorry. I wanted to ask for some advice, but I couldn't tell if you were sleeping or not and didn't want to wake you if you were," Koda nervously said as he twiddled his fingers.

The fact that the large teen wanted to talk at length with him got Izuku to quickly respond with, "Well I'd be happy to help with anything you need."

"Thanks, Midoriya-chan," Koji stated as he took a seat from across his friend. After a few moments of deep breaths, he began by saying, "Well as of late J-Jiro-san has been trying to strike up conversations with me."

Izuku remembered back to the conversation he and Kyoka had during the summer break concerning this. He was curious about how much things had progressed. Midoriya then said, "Well that's a good thing, right? I'm sure you wanna get better at socializing, so talking to a girl will help with that."

"I-I mean I'm not against talking to her, but I find it weird that s-she wants to talk with me," the large teen said with a worried look on his face.

Izuku knew what the real reason was, but replied with, "Well, maybe she wants to be friends with you?"

Koda looked surprised upon hearing this and said, "B-But why me? There's no r-reason for a g-girl like her to want to be f-friends with me."

Midoriya then asked, "And what's wrong with wanting to be friends with you Koda-san?"

"J-Jiro-san seems like the type of g-girl who wants to hang out with people that are confident with themselves and their passions. I mean I'm getting better and all, but I'm nothing like everyone else in the class," Koji said while sagging his shoulders.

Upon hearing this, Izuku remembered Mashirao mentioning the petting hero's observational skills. He wondered how Koda was able to infer this from just observing the hearing heroine. Midoriya then stated, "I mean maybe she saw something in you doing your final exam and thought you two could be friends just from that."

Koji seemed to ponder this thought for a bit before replying with, "J-Jiro san did start trying to talk with me after the exam. You might be right, Midoriya-chan." He then shook his head a few times and asked, "Anyways, what should I do about this? Most of our talks are just me listening to her. I wanna contribute, but I usually don't have much to say or am too nervous when I do."

Izuku recalled Kyoka mentioning the only time she had gotten a response from the large teen at that time was when she mentioned himself. This gave him an idea, and he responded with, "Well why don't you try and start a conversation with her yourself? Maybe over something, you're comfortable with talking about. Like animals."

Koda's body perked up upon hearing this, and he said, "Hey yeah that could work. I mean a-approaching her might be difficult, but at least this gives me something I could take about."

The two then discussed other possible subjects that Koji could bring up for the next couple of minutes. Izuku also gave some tips on how to calm down when he was nervous that had helped him in the past, and his large friend found them as helpful. As the two talked, Midoriya noticed in the corner of his eye Mineta walking upstairs to the boy's dorms. He hadn't noticed the short teen in the lounge earlier, so where did he come from, he wondered.

The two boys conversation was halted though when suddenly Tooru showed up which silenced Koji quick. She kindly asked, "Hey Koda-san, you don't mind if I borrow Midoriya-kun for a bit do you?"

The large teen gulped before saying, "I-It's okay H-Hagakure-san, we were about d-done. I-I'll see you both t-tomorrow."

After Koda made his leave, Hagakure sat next to her boyfriend and stated, "You'll never guess what just happened."

Completely clueless as to what, Midoriya asked, "No idea. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, everything is quite wonderful. I had a little visitor knock on my door just a few minutes ago," Tooru said with glee.

The boy immediately connected the dots from what he saw earlier and said, "You mean Mineta-san apologized?"

"He did! And it was surprisingly decent coming from him. I really thought me and the girls would be confronting him next week, but you continue to surprise me Izuku," the invisible girl stated.

Izuku sighed in relief before saying, "See I told you Tooru, we just need to give him some space and time to think about what I told him."

"Well, while I'm glad he said he was sorry now comes the part where he acts like he's sorry as well," Tooru argued.

The boy nodded before saying, "Yeah and that's gonna be the hardest part for him."

"Hey, at least it's a start," Hagakure said as she got up from the couch.

Midoriya hesitated for a moment before standing himself and asking, "Hey Tooru, does this mean the 'ban' on our physical interactions is over?"

"Sorry, but no," Hagakure stated bluntly. She then started to make her way back to the girl's dorm.

Izuku knew it was a long shot, as it had only been a week since the ban was started. It didn't hurt to ask, he thought.

Tooru then stopped before heading upstairs and proclaimed, "It certainly does help in lifting it though! See you tomorrow Izuku!" She then walked up the stairs at a quick pace.

Midoriya felt a wave of joy overtake him upon hearing this. Things were looking up between him and his girlfriend. Koda was feeling more confident in interacting with Jiro. He had made a new friend with Hatsume. The boy's one on one training with All Might had finally begun. The first video chat had mostly gone well. Ida and Uraraka had finally been open about their relationship.

With all this in mind, while the upcoming provisional license exam loomed on the horizon and Izuku felt more than ever that he was ready for whatever it would throw at him.

* * *

 **Well hey, an early upload! The last chapter was posted two days late, so I decided to post this one two days early!**

 **Welp got through the rest of the Super Training this chapter. I initially had an extra scene at the end (which would have clocked this chapter at around 15k words) but decided to move it to a later point in the story. Chapter twenty will have a summary of the provisional hero license exam and the aftermath of Deku vs. Kaachan round two. From here we will slowly see the secondary theme of this fic start to come to fruition that has been building up since chapter three. Which will then also reveal the reasoning behind the title of this fic with due time, which might come off as lame but w/e it's too late now to change it. ;p**

 **Night Foilage edited two more chapters. The following edits were made:**

 **7: 52 (10,631)**

 **8: 22 (7,439)**

 **So yeah Tenya and Ochako are now open about their relationship with the class. I was tempted to depict the scene as the start of the chapter, but one thing was holding me back. I didn't want to just retell Ida's birthday from the third volume of the light novel, as the only changes I made were how it started, the cake itself, Uraraka's kiss, and them both coming out. I know I usually just summarize canon, tho one can debate if the light novels are canon, but since it's a written work I didn't want to repeat the experience for those that have already read that chapter in the light novel. So if want to read that in detail, you can easily find translations for all the chapters on Tumblr.**

 **1B's visit from the light novel was also handled similarly (only change was Monoma's motives, the reason for the competition, and it's aftermath). It was mainly included to give Sato some screen time in its aftermath (and continue Mashirao's plot a bit), cause again minor characters getting some love is needed, and also this sets up more 1B interactions in the future which is always welcome.**

 **Tumblr posts this month were a bit more personal but also some BNHA here and there. Post 6 showed off all my wacky pets. Post 7 explains why I wrote Tenya x Ochako for this fic. Post 8 shows off my hiking/biking during Spring Break. And finally, Post 9 talks about my views of Izuku ships with the girls in 1A.**

 **Before I go, I'd like to point out another IzuTooru fic that started not long ago. Another friend from the MinaDeku discord, Eternal Love Song, has been on a roll as of late writing over ten oneshots this last month. She did start one longfic though, Phantom Fatale, that involves Izuku and Tooru in an AU where both are thieves but still have quirks. It's only two chapters in but I like the premise and am hopeful for the fluff that will eventually happen in the future of the story. So if you need more IzuTooru to tide you over till the next chapter, check this story out!**

 **With that out of the way, all that needs to be said is that chapter twenty will release May 1st!**


	20. Sins of the Bully

Chapter 20: Sins of the Bully

Izuku was starting to notice a pattern in his life in the last couple of months.

With the good came the bad. And examples started to flash through the teen's head:

Midoriya had finally obtained a quirk, but it was unruly and shattered his body at first. The dream opportunity to become a hero and even the successor of All Might was happening but in doing so sealed his idol's fate to weaken and eventually retire. Izuku was able to save someone on his own but ravaged his arms in doing so. He and his classmates were able to do the impossible and save Katsuki from the Villian Alliance but by keeping it a secret he had betrayed his girlfriend's trust in him.

And today was no different.

It was late Sunday night. The Provisional License Exam was over, and Midoirya had passed. In fact, almost everyone in class 1A had obtained their provisional license.

But again, with the good came the bad.

Izuku was currently sitting on the pavement opposite of Katsuki. All Might was between them on the phone talking to someone. It had been a rough night for all of them.

Bakugo had failed, and while everyone was celebrating their accomplishments back at the dorm, he asked his hated rival to meet him outside later. Midoriya would have refused if not for former friend stating it was about his quirk.

Izuku then met him outside but Katsuki declined to say anything as the two walked away from their dorm. Eventually, Bakugo stopped at Ground Beta and pointed out he had come here cause it was where Midoriya had first beat him, during All Might's first lesson to the class so many months ago.

Katsuki then revealed he had figured out the connection between Izuku and All Might. It started with him noticing that as the number one hero grew weaker, Izuku became stronger. Then came his encounter with All for One. Bakugo had observed that his idol and the supervillain had known each other going from their talk before fighting. He also saw All for One's transferal and stockpile of quirks, during the fight. It then reminded him when Midoriya stated that he had been entrusted with a quirk on the day they first fought. Katsuki also noticed Izuku reacted differently to All Might's message, "You're next," from everyone else who saw the aftermath of his battle with One for All. The final straw for him was when he asked the former pro hero about his relationship with Midoriya and did not get a straight answer during his visit concerning the dorms over the summer break.

But what prompted him to come out tonight was his failure at the exam, and Izuku's passing it. It was the tipping point. Bakugo wanted to test his self-worth on his terms, a fight at full strength. Something that couldn't be done with teachers and classmates around. They would try and stop them, he argued. The explosive quirk user also felt because he was weak, he got kidnapped which lead to All Might having to retire cause he had to go all out against All for One.

The two had never been so open to each other about their feelings in the many years that they knew each other. Midoirya felt, at that moment, he was the only one who could respond to them. And Katsuki's words still echoed through his head.

 _If your aspiration was so much greater than mine then does that mean my aspirations were wrong this whole time?!_

Bakugo then threw the first punch, and Midoriya fought back. And what a fight it was. Izuku hadn't pushed himself this hard since that one night during the school trip. He was forced to use Full Cowl 8% in battle finally, but it still wasn't enough. He had been defeated, to Bakugo's disappointment.

But this is when All Might arrived and stopped it from progressing further. He revealed his reasons for choosing his successor to Katsuki and stated that in no way was it the boy's fault that he retired by getting kidnapped. The former pro hero stated he was bound to lose his powers and retire eventually anyways. But what he said next really stuck with Izuku.

 _Your way is to obsess over victory Bakugo, my boy._

 _And Midoriya's way is to rescue..._

 _...If the two of you can recognize each other and honestly raise each other up, you can become the best heroes, who both win and rescue._

Izuku pondered, him and Kacchan? As a team? Or did he mean as rivals that pushed each other to be better? These thoughts ran through his mind as he sat waiting for his teacher to finish his call. But then something else popped into his head. He needed to tell Tooru what happened.

Midoirya reached into his pocket and sighed in relief to see his phone wasn't damaged despite all that had happened. He still had it in his pocket because before Bakugo told him to meet him outside, he sent a picture of his new license to All Might. It took Izuku a few seconds as he hovered his fingers over the screen of his phone before he began typing.

All Might: I know this will sound entirely out of nowhere, but Kacchan and I got into a fight. I think we might have worked out some of our differences, too early to tell though. Regardless, I thought you should know. All Might is with us at the moment, so there's no need to worry. Sorry if I woke you I just felt I needed to tell you as soon as possible.

The boy stared at his phone for a minute before he put his phone in his pocket. Almost immediately after doing this his phone vibrated, and he took it out again to see that she had responded.

Blank: You hurt?

Midoirya was surprised she answered so quickly. Was his girlfriend still up at this hour? Or was she that concerned for him? Regardless he began typing.

All Might: Sorta, but it's minor stuff, nothing serious.

Blank: Where are you?

All Might: Ground Beta. We'll probably start heading back to the dorms soon.

Almost a minute passed before he got a response.

Blank: Stay in the common room once you get back. Please?

Before Izuku could type a response, he heard All Might say, "Come you two, it's time to head back."

While the former pro hero led them back, he was in front, the others behind them. As they walked, Katsuki asked if anyone else knew about their secret. All Might answered that only the principal, their homeroom teacher, and Recovery Girl knew on the faculty side. As for students, just him and Tooru. Bakugo grunted at hearing Hagakure's name be said, but Midoriya decided to let it go for now. For the first time in forever, the two were in better standing, and he didn't want to argue with him. However, they did argue on one thing. After Katsuki agreed to keep it all a secret, the two boys bickered who would surpass the other, and to Izuku it gave him some relief. They sounded like proper rivals now, a lot better than what they were before.

Once they arrived at the dorms, All Might said that Aizawa would issue their punishment tomorrow morning. He then asked the boys to patch themselves up and head to bed. Bakugo hastily went upstairs to sleep upon being dismissed.

There was no sign of Hagakure in the common room, and Midoriya was about to start looking around to find her, but a hand from behind him grabbed his shoulder.

"That was reckless even for you," All Might said in a disappointed tone.

Izuku bowed his head as he answered with, "Sorry sir. I couldn't refuse. He mentioned that it was about my quirk. Otherwise, I wouldn't have followed him there tonight."

The former pro hero let go of his successor and then crossed his arms as he said, "I see, so that's how he got you to come." He then sighed before saying, "This might have been avoided if you hadn't hinted at One for All to him back at the start of school."

Midoriya could only give a slow nod to the statement. He then looked at his idol's arms. Still bandaged but no longer in a sling. The last time Izuku had seen him, which was just two days ago, All Might was still in a sling. He wanted to ask about it, but he figured now was not the time.

The skeleton of a man remained silent for a few moments before stating with concern in his tone, "On the other hand Bakugo is quite an observant student, perhaps he would have figured it out eventually. Maybe it's better he found out sooner than later." He then turned away from Izuku and took a few steps forward to open the door. However, before taking his leave, he turned his head back and said, "That old friend of yours seemed quite conflicted back there. Hopefully like Todoroki-san at the Hero Festival, your actions will set Bakugo-san towards a better path."

All Might then made his leave without waiting for a response.

Hearing Todoroki be mentioned reminded Midoriya that he was another student that failed the exam, and it made him ponder how he was handling it. It was easy to see observe Bakugo's emotions on not passing. It was written all over his face and how he had acted tonight. Shoto, however, was quite hard to gauge. Izuku wondered even if Koji had trouble reading his emotions.

The boy rubbed his eyes for a second before remembering he still needed to meet with Tooru. He then started to make his way towards the entrance of the girl's stairway. Once Midoriya arrived, he looked up hoping he might see some sign of her but no dice. He then raised his left hand and gripped his stomach. Izuku just had a particular thought cross his mind, and it made him queasy. He wondered, was his girlfriend somewhere nude in the common room waiting for the right moment to confront him? Was she furious? Scared? Confused?

These thoughts gave Midoriya pause, but he eventually turned around to get another look at the room. What surprised him was he instantly saw Hagakure, at the far end of the room. She was sitting on the floor, at the side of a couch holding something to her chest.

Izuku began to walk over to her slowly. As he approached, he observed what she was wearing. A simple white T-shirt and some black workout shorts. She wasn't wearing any snap bracelets, socks, or shoes. Midoriya also noticed that the object she was holding was a decently sized blue satchel. But he couldn't tell what was inside.

The boy took a seat on the floor facing her side. He then said in an awkward voice, "E-Evening Tooru."

Hagakure responded in a disinterested tone with, "Hey."

Izuku was puzzled by her short response and hoped it didn't mean she was too mad. He gulped before saying, "I didn't expect to find you here. Is, everything okay?"

A few seconds of silence followed before the invisible girl replied, "Just conflicted about this whole thing." She took a few breaths before continuing with, "And I'm here cause I couldn't decide what to do when you guys got here. After getting your message, I put on some clothes and made my way down here as fast as I could. I was hoping Yagi-sensei would have just let you two go outside. But when I saw you all coming in, I dashed behind here and waited."

Midoriya then asked, "Did you hear us talk?"

"Yeah. It sounds like firecracker is in the know about everything now," Tooru responded with unpleasantness in her voice. The two remained quiet for a bit before she said, "Sorry, now's not the time for this. Mind taking a seat on the couch?"

Izuku got up and sat down as instructed. Even though he didn't know what was about to happen, he didn't think arguing was the best option at the moment.

The invisible girl got up and stood in front of him and leaned forward slightly.

Midoriya was quick to ask, "What are you doing?"

"Assessing the damage before I patch you up," Hagakure said bluntly. Her handbag then opened, and plastic bags full of medical equipment came out.

The boy raised his hands defensively as he said, "Wait I can do this myself Tooru, there's no need for you to stay up and deal with my mistakes."

"Your mistakes are my business now Izuku, so hush and let me fix you up," Tooru huffed.

Izuku immediately felt a hand on his left cheek, and a piece of cloth came up and was applied to his lower left lip. After a few seconds, his girlfriend took off the cloth and wiped his chin to get rid of the dried blood. Once she finished, he said, "Sorry about waking you up. I'm sure this was not something you want to lose sleep over."

A sigh could be heard from Hagakure before she responded with, "While true, I will say I'm glad you told me straight away." As she then took out a bandage and applied it to his cut, she said, "I wanna hear about everything that happened during your brawl with firecracker while I finish the rest of this."

As Midoriya explained the talk before the fight, the battle itself, and All Might's arrival, his girlfriend made quick work of his injuries. She bandaged up his right cheek, left wrist, and both knees while also wiping away any dirt on his skin.

Once he finished Tooru stated, "So you lost."

Izuku slouched as he asked, "Does it matter?"

"Would at least have meant firecracker would get some karma for what he's done," Hagakure said with an irritated tone. After a few moments, she said, "Well at least your Full Cowl is getting better I guess."

Midoriya nodded before saying excitingly, "Yeah I was able to somewhat keep up with him at eight percent, and it never faltered like before."

"Good to hear," Tooru said in a more upbeat voice. She then leaned in closer to her boyfriend and stated, "Alright, just got to check one more thing. So off with your shirt."

Izuku gulped before asking, "W-Why?"

The boy felt a finger poke his chest as Hagakure said, "I wanna check if you got any cuts or scrapes on your body. So take it off before I do it for you."

Midoriya grumbled as he did as he was told. He couldn't argue with her logic, but he felt embarrassed for her to see him hurt and dirty. This was different from the summer trip and when they went to the beach. The boy didn't have time to even look at himself before he felt fingers on the right side of his chest. It almost made him jump, but then he heard Hagakure say, "Yep this is gonna bruise. Does it hurt?"

"J-Just a bit s-sensitive," was all Izuku could muster to say.

Tooru then inspected the rest of his torso but without her hands. However, she tugged on the brace on his upper right arm before saying, "Do the burns from that day look any better?"

Midoriya merely shook his head. Unless he wore a long sleeve shirt, his burns from the fire villain still showed. Inko had suggested wearing a brace to hide it before he left so the others wouldn't worry, and her son agreed with the idea.

Hagakure then stood up and stated, "Alright turn around so I can check your back."

Midoriya took off his shoes and brought his feet up before he spun around and leaned forward a bit to give her a better view.

"Yeah, you have a few scratches back here. This shouldn't take long," Tooru said.

As Tooru worked on her boyfriend's back, a blush started to form on his face. Not because of being touched by her, but because of what she said earlier.

After a minute Izuku cleared his throat before asking, "S-So uh, earlier you mentioned putting on c-clothes after getting my message."

"Oh, that? I sleep in the nude during the warmer months," the invisible girl responded as if it was no big deal.

The boy fidgeted as he asked, "B-But why?"

"It's always helped me fall asleep quickly. It's just really relaxing. And thanks to it no one was able to tell I had snuck out at night during the school trip," Tooru answered before giving a small chuckle. She then asked, "Have you ever tried it?"

Midoriya was rapid in his response by saying, "No, n-never."

Hagakure giggled before saying, "Well you should give it a go just once to see how it is. Anyways, your back good now so it's okay to put your shirt back on."

Izuku turned around and replied, "Thanks, but I think I'll have to pass on sleeping with no clothes." After dressing himself, he watched Tooru put away her medical supplies. Eventually, Midoriya asked, "Why do you have all that around?"

"Well, I used to get small injuries all the time when I didn't have a suit, so I always had this around just in case. I guess I still have it as a force of habit," Hagakure explained. Once she finished, she said, "Well that's that. It's late, and I would rather get to bed than talk about you and firecracker's issues some more, but I wanna discuss this further some other time, okay?"

"Alright then," Izuku responded with a sigh. He then stood up but was surprised to be met with a kiss on his forehead.

As Izuku stood there dazed at what just happened, Tooru stated, "That's for being upfront with me about tonight. See you in the morning Izuku."

As she walked away, Midoriya was reminded of the Provisional Hero License Exam. When Hagakure had found out they both passed she had hugged him. At the time Izuku just embraced her back, happy he could do so once again. But now with the kiss, it spurred him to ask, "So does that mean the ban has been lifted?"

The invisible girl stopped just before the stairs going up to the girl's dorms and remained silent for a few seconds. She then put her handbag down on a table by the doorway and walked back to Midoriya. Hagakure again didn't speak a word as stood in front of him.

After waiting a few moments, Izuku thought to ask, should I have not asked about this? However, his girlfriend exhaled loudly before saying, "Ah, sure. Why the hell not." She then came forward and put her arms around his back and pulled him to her lips. Midoriya was so flabbergasted at what was happening he didn't have time to put effort into it before Hagakure pulled away to say, "Gosh I missed doing that." She then turned around to pick up her satchel and said, "Later," before walking upstairs.

Izuku put a hand to his lips and after some time passed a soft grin came across his face. He then walked upstairs to his room to finally get some rest after such a long and bizarre day.

* * *

So far, Monday morning had been terrible for Midoriya.

The morning started early as Aizawa knocked on his door waking him and telling him to be downstairs in five minutes.

Izuku hastily got ready and made his way to the common room to find not only his homeroom teacher but Katsuki as well. The explosive quirk user looked awful. It seemed like he had gotten little sleep and his bandages were sloppily done.

It was there that Eraserhead told his students their punishment, house arrest. Bakugo got four days since he threw the first punch, and Midoriya three days. Each would need to write an apology but also they alone would do the chores for the entire dorm during these days. Ida and Yaoyorozu had set up a chore schedule for everyone earlier to do specific duties each week, but now they would do it all, just the two of them.

And for the last hour, both boys had been washing and vacuuming the common room. It was incredibly awkward for Izuku to have his classmates come downstairs wondering what was going on. Since Katsuki wasn't willing to talk to anyone, it was he who had to answer all the questions. Ochako and Tenya were particularly interested in his well being, with the latter showing his displeasure about what happened. Momo and Mashirao didn't say anything, but he could tell from their faces they weren't okay with what happened. Tooru however, kept her distance during all of this. While the two were on better terms now, Midoriya figured she still wasn't happy about what happened last night.

Midoriya was glad when everyone finally left as there was silence once more, well minus the hum of the vacuum cleaners. Both boys had just passed each other while vacuuming, and Izuku was surprised to hear Katsuki turn off his device and say, "About your shoot style."

A few moments passed before Izuku switched off his vacuum and asked without turning around, "What about it?"

However, before Bakugo could respond both teens saw Hagakure suddenly walk down from the girl's rooms. She had on her school uniform and her typical backpack, but she was now carrying her blue satchel from the night before. Midoriya wondered, did she want to reapply his bandages before she left?

Tooru made her way over to the boys and stood between them.

In an annoyed tone, Katsuki stated, "I'm not in the mood to be bitched at."

Hagakure sighed and said, "I haven't even said anything, and you're already assuming the worst."

"What other fucking reason would you be here right now? Deku and I beat the shit out of each other so it's obvious you just wanna tell me off," Bakugo quickly spat back.

Trying to diffuse the situation Midoriya stood between the two and said, "Tooru if you don't hurry you're gonna be late for the first day of class for the semester."

The invisible girl shrugged and stated, "If I do this quick I'll only miss the opening ceremony. At worst I'll be on our class president's bad side for the day. And I think I can handle that."

Izuku gulped before asking, "So what did you wanna do?"

Tooru turned towards Katsuki and lifted her bag towards him as she stated, "I wanna bandage him up."

Both boys gave a shocked face at the girl upon hearing this.

The explosive quirk user grunted before reaching down to turn his vacuum on and again, "I don't have time for this. I just wanna get this cleaning shit done and over with so I can go back to sleep."

"Did you even look at yourself in the mirror this morning? I bet a primary schooler could bandage themselves better than yourself," Hagakure said as she took a few steps forward.

Bakugo barked back, "Look here Invisibitch. A lot of shit happened last night, and my wounds were damn near the bottom of my list of shits to give because of it. Besides, I fucking doubt you could do better."

Izuku clenched his fist upon hearing this. He was about to say something for calling Tooru such a word before her handbag was placed in front of his face. His girlfriend took a deep breath before saying, "Oh I know I can. I patched him up last night." She then lowered the satchel slowly.

Katsuki then turned and glared at his rival. He looked at his bandages for a few seconds before saying, "Okay then. But how do I know you're not just gonna make them worse as some shitty chance at revenge or something?"

"Gosh you're a dense one," Toori stated with a sigh.

Upon hearing this Bakugo began growling and baring his teeth with raised fists but before he could utter a word Hagakure was quick to say, "Hear me out okay? You and Izuku for the first time in like forever are on better terms so I don't wanna harm that prospect, even as much as I think you don't deserve it."

This seemed to calm Katsuki somewhat, but he then stated, "So you know All Might's secret and my past with Deku." He then turned his head to Izuku and said, "Figures he would blab about it."

Hagakure approached Bakugo and was just inches away from him as she said, "Look. All Might-sensei told me about his secret himself. Izuku has only given me some details about your past and only cause I asked. He hasn't told me much, but there's little left to the imagination of what you did." She took a step back and took a few breaths before continuing with, "Just let me patch you up, please. I don't wanna be any later to class than I have to."

Katsuki had a scowl on his face, but he eventually walked over to a nearby couch and sat down before saying, "Be quick about it then. And you doing this doesn't get mentioned to anyone else, got it?"

Tooru shrugged before stating, "Fine by me. Let's get this done already."

As Hagakure replaced Bakugo's second-rate bandage work, Midoriya turned on his vacuum and began cleaning again but kept a close eye on the two at the couch. They remained silent during the whole ordeal which unnerved him. Izuku was glad Tooru was doing this for Katsuki, but he knew she was loathing probably every moment about it. He wasn't looking forward to their talk about this later but knew it had to be done.

About ten minutes passed before Hagakure stood up and started to put away her medical supplies. Upon seeing this Midoriya turned off the cleaning device. Bakugo inspected her handiwork before asking in a serious tone, "How long have you known about me and Deku's past?"

Tooru took a moment before replying with, "Well I got an indication of it not long after you two fought during our first lesson with All Might-sensei. But it wasn't until right after the Hero Festival when I was convinced of what you did."

Upon hearing this, Izuku was reminded of the first time she had snuck into the hospital and her first visit to his home. Both times he had been asked about his relationship with Katsuki and gave some details to Tooru. The boy wondered, should he have said more?

Bakugo flinched slightly at hearing her response and then asked, "And you never told anyone else? You've had plenty of fucking time to tell our class. So what gives?"

Hagakure began to walk away from the couch but stopped after a few steps. She didn't turn around as she said, "Oh I've considered it plenty of times. But each time I almost said something about it I was reminded of what Izuku saw as good traits you had. I guess in the end I valued his opinion of you over my petty thoughts of revenge." She remained silent for a few seconds before continuing with, "Besides if you're gonna take responsibility for what you did, it's better you tell the class than me getting all gossipy. You should own up to what you did without anyone's influence if you truly want to be sorry. I hope that day comes sooner than later, ya hear me?"

A few seconds passed before the explosive quirk user gave a stern look at Tooru and stated, "I'll keep that in mind no face."

With that said, Hagakure made her leave without saying another word.

Bakugo walked back to his vacuum and looked over at Midoriya to say, "You have an odd taste in girls Deku."

Izuku gave an awkward chuckle at this. He wondered, was this a complaint or not?

This gesture didn't seem to please Katsuki, and he grunted before saying, "So anyways about your Shoot Style..."

* * *

It was Monday night, and Midoriya was laying in his bed exhausted. The lack of sleep, sores from his brawl from yesterday, and all the cleaning he had done were starting to take its toll.

After Tooru left, Katsuki advised how to improve Izuku's Shoot Style. Midoriya thought it was sound advice but was still baffled how things had grown so much between them. He kept a small smile plastered on his face for some time afterward considering this thought.

After doing most of the chores for the day, the two boys went to their rooms. For the next few hours, Izuku swapped between light weight lifting and brainstorming. He had so much free time; he wanted to try and think of another way he could be different from All Might like they had discussed the week before. Midoriya had been thinking about it every day since but never sat down and focused on ideas about it. He first started by listing all the things he knew about his idol, and this took quite some time. Then the boy wrote down everything that could be done differently from those traits. Next, he eliminated what he deemed as too little or too drastic of a change.

Before Izuku could finish crossing out all the ideas he didn't like, his classmates had returned from school. He had agreed earlier with Katsuki to wait to take care of trash pick-up once everyone got back, as everyone had a trash can in their room. As they collected it, Midoriya was overwhelmed to overhear everyone talking about the first day of school. New classes, new materials being covered, and talk of an internship were all mentioned. Izuku felt so far behind, and it had only been one day. Even worse, everyone had been instructed not to tell him any specifics, as said by Tenya.

Midoriya also did observe something odd before coming back to his room. While taking some trash to the outside dumpster he met someone, but only their head. First, it came out of a wall, then the ground. Izuku knew it was just a student using his quirk but this unnerved him nonetheless. The mysterious person sounded like an upperclassman, and his personality was very upbeat. The student said he was interested in Midoriya because of all the rumors going around and hoped to meet him again soon. And as quickly as he had come, the stranger vanished into the ground. Izuku couldn't help but find the upperclassmen's face as familiar, but he wondered, from where?

After the strange encounter, Izuku went back to the dorm to find Tooru waiting for him. She merely wanted to say she needed more time before she was ready to talk more about what had happened yesterday. He suggested Thursday, the day he would be allowed to go to school again, and his girlfriend thought that should be enough time. She also mentioned she wanted to talk about other stuff as well before going inside. Midoriya had a good guess about what happened at the Provisional Hero License Exam but decided to worry about that for later.

Izuku then went up to his room and finished crossing out what he needed; he then decided to take a break and laid on his bed. Minutes turned into an hour, and just as he got the urge to ponder the few possibilities he hadn't eliminated, he heard a few knocks on his door.

Izuku wondered who it could be this time. As he got up to answer the door, he quickly raced possible ideas at who it was in his head. It couldn't be Tooru; they had just arranged to talk in depth about last night. Could it be Mashirao? The two of them hadn't spoken to each other since the exam. And based on the tailed teen's past with bullies, did he want to say something because of his own experience with them? Midoriya then considered Bakugo for a moment before dashing that thought from his head. They weren't that close yet. As he clasped the doorknob, another possibility came up in his mind. Was it Ida? The class president had made it quite clear he was quite disappointed in Izuku with what happened yesterday. Was Tenya here to lecture him in private?

Midoriya was shocked to find all his assumptions were wrong, and he found Kirishima at his doorstep as he opened the door.

"Hey, Midoriya-kun. I hope I'm not interrupting anything important," the red-headed teen said with a toothy grin.

Ever since the conclusion of the exams, everyone in 1A had started to change the honorifics they were giving to their classmates. Maybe it was because they were all overjoyed that most of their class had passed the exam. Perhaps it was because it was the start of a new semester at the hero academy. Or maybe it was merely because they had been living together for almost two weeks. Either way for Izuku to hear Eijiro use it comforted him.

Midoriya cleared his throat before answering, "Nah just brainstorming something minor. Is there something you wanted to ask me Kirishima-kun?"

The visitor crossed his arms and gave a severe look before saying, "Yeah I do. Do you mind if I come inside? It's a sensitive subject."

Izuku guessed it was about the fight. Eijiro was Katsuki's closest thing to a friend he had; it made sense. He replied, "Sure thing. Come on in."

Midoriya showed his guest to his computer chair after putting away his notes. He then sat down on his bed before asking, "So you wanna talk about last night, am I right?"

Kirishima sighed before stating, "Yeah I do. But before we get to that, I wanna tell you about something that happened back near the end of our first semester." Izuku gave him a confused look before Eijiro continued with, "It was the day before the final exam and Bakugo-san had agreed to tutor me since my grades are not so hot. We met at a library to study but one thing led to another, and we were at a restaurant. While I got us some drinks, two guys approached Bakugo-san, and they recognized him from middle school."

Midoriya leaned forward upon hearing this. He wondered, why was he using san for Kacchan? Why not kun like before? He put the thought on the backburner for now and asked, "Do you remember their names?"

Kirishima shook his head and replied, "Nah they never stated them. But as I swapped stories with them and mentioned you, it got their attention." He paused a moment and scratched the back of his head before stating, "They mentioned they used to bully you because they thought you were quirkless."

A small chill ran down Izuku's spine upon hearing this. He wondered, was Eijiro curious about his quirk now too?

The red-headed teen noticed his host's reaction and said, "But they also mentioned how cool you were when they watched the Sport's Festival. They looked like they felt awful about what they did to you."

The Midoriya sighed internally. So it wasn't about his quirk, he thought.

Kirishima looked at the floor with a frown as he stated, "They felt bad about what they did, but only once they learned you had a quirk. I think it's terrible that they treated you like they did cause you got your powers late. It just isn't right."

"Well, it's not all that uncommon for quirkless to be looked down upon. I was unfortunate that my quirk developed so much later than everyone else," Midoriya said.

Eijiro leaned back in the computer chair before saying, "You know, I saw my fair share of bullies when I was growing up. It was usually classmates with strong or combat focused quirks. I never had any quirkless classmates to see how they were treated but I get the idea when they picked on those with weaker quirks. And well, despite how I am now, I never stepped in to stop such behavior even though I could have done something with the quirk I have." He then looked at his hands for a few moments before turning them into fists and said, "But I guess I haven't changed that much. That day we studied together, I wondered if Bakugo-san had been bullying you as those two did. He's always been rough with you, but I always assumed it was cause he saw you as someone who could compete against as the best potential to become a pro hero in our class. Bakugo-san has always had an odd way of showing concern for others, and I just figured that's how he acted around you. But I think it was because I couldn't bring myself to see him in a negative light, cause it would mean I had been wrong this whole time."

The explanation reminded Izuku of when Katsuki had begrudgingly paid back Eijiro for his broken infrared camera from his rescue during the summer. The explosive quirk user then grabbed Denki and forced him to use his quirk behind a bush to make him dumb, which lightened the mood for the class after being told of the threat of near expulsion of everyone else by their homeroom teacher.

Kirishima stood up as he said, "But then last night happened." He paused again, before asking, "Bakugo-san bullied you in the past too, didn't he Midoriya-kun? I need to know if I've been praising the wrong dude for these last couple of months or not."

Midoriya gulped before giving a slow nod. He had no idea that Kirishima was so shaken up about this. And at this point, lying wasn't going to help.

There was silence for a while before Izuku's guest took a seat and said, "How long?"

"Since before primary school. Once he found out I was quirkless, our friendship fell apart quickly," Midoriya replied in a dry tone.

Eijiro sighed heavily upon hearing this and stayed quiet for a few minutes. Eventually, he spoke up and asked, "And you haven't told anyone else because?"

Izuku spent a few moments thinking of an answer before responding with, "Tooru knows, but that's it." He paused to think before continuing with, "At first, it was because of fear I guess. I then quickly tried to put the past behind us, but that turned out to be harder than I thought." He then remembered what his girlfriend had said this morning and took a few breaths before saying, "But now I feel it would be best if Kaachan admitted what he did to everyone else than me babbling about it. I want him to be a better person, and revealing the truth through me or anyone else could jeopardize that."

Kirishima stood up again but this time stood over his host as he asked, "But why give him the courtesy at all? He doesn't deserve it, especially coming from you."

Midoriya flinched slightly at this and thought a bit before answering with, "It's the right thing to do. Hero's shouldn't seek revenge. We should work to better everyone, no matter what they might think of us." Thoughts of what Ida did to try and get revenge on the Hero Killer were still fresh in his mind despite being so many months ago. It can break the best of people, he mused.

Eijiro covered his face with his palm before stating, "You're right. Sorry about the outburst. I'm letting my emotions get the better of me." He took a deep breath and lowered his hand before saying, "I always thought he was a strong and cool dude. Beneath his explosive exterior there was a great hero in the making there I thought. But it turns out there's a lot more wrong in that shell he has." He then grunted before saying, "But now what do I do? I can't just treat him like he's my bro after learning about this. But I also can't say what you told me to him to try and correct his ways. That would be disastrous for all of us."

Izuku crossed his arms and thought deeply about it for a minute before replying with, "Well you wanted to be friends with him because you saw the good in him right?"

Kirishima down at the floor and gave a slow nod.

Midoriya thought for a minute before giving his answer, "Well fight for the good that's in him. Call him out when he's abrasive and praise him when he's acting like a true hero. And hopefully, he'll open enough to you or others and maybe admit his faults and even his past one day."

Ejiro huffed before asking, "And you think that will work?"

Midoriya stood up and before explaining, "Perhaps. But I know I can't do it. My standing with Kacchan, while better, is still quite fragile." He then placed a hand on his guest's shoulder before continuing with, "Kirishima-kun, you've been Kacchan's one true friend since the start of school here. I think you'll have a better chance of influencing him with that method than I currently can. There are too many unknowns between Kacchan and me at the moment for me to be more aggressive in changing him for the better."

Kirishima shoulders sagged slightly before he said, "That's a lot to think about."

"I mean I am just giving some advice, you don't have to follow it word for word. All I ask is that you keep the business of Kacchan bullying me a secret for now," Izuku pleaded as he let go of his visitor.

With a heavy sigh, Eijiro gave a nod. He then said, "At the very least I'll do that. But I need more time to consider what to do about all this."

"I understand," Midoriya stated as he walked towards his door and opened it.

Kirishima started to walk towards the exit but stopped next to Izuku and flashed him a toothy grin as he said, "Thanks for hearing me out Midoriya-kun. Goodnight."

"Night," Izuku responded. He then watched his guest leave and make his way upstairs to the next floor to his room. Midoriya closed his door, and turned off the light to his place before slowly getting into bed. As he pulled his blanket over his body he thought, I can brainstorm more tomorrow; I need to rest now. And for the next couple minutes, Izuku thought about what had just happened before he was fast asleep.

* * *

Tuesday morning and afternoon came and went without much incident for Izuku. After doing the daily chores with Katsuki, he decided to get back to his work from yesterday. It was not long after lunch before Midoriya finally decided on an idea to go with. He sent a text to All Might asking if they could have another meeting the next day. He considered waiting until Sunday but wanted to ask his mentor about his proposal while it was fresh in his mind. The former pro hero responded within a few minutes that he was okay with the idea and that they should meet in his office after school tomorrow.

Izuku then turned his attention to writing his apology to Eraserhead. He was instructed to give it to his homeroom teacher Thursday morning. The boy spent the next hour writing the piece. It was simple and to the point, apologizing for fighting another student outside of training and stating what he should have done in the situation instead of what he did.

Once finished Midoriya looked at his phone and noticed classes for the day must have just ended. He was about to go downstairs and wait for his classmates to return hoping to hear more tidbits about anything he missed. Izuku knew from looking at his schedule that All Might would have taught a class today, so he was extra motivated. But as he opened his door to leave his room, a sudden revelation came to mind.

Midoriya had forgotten about Hatsume. He had promised the pink haired engineer last week to meet her after class every Tuesday. Izuku was quick to grab his phone. After his last visit, they exchanged phone numbers and now was the time to put it to use.

All Might: Hatsume-san are you busy?

About a minute passed before Izuku got a response.

Goggles: Been at the workshop for almost an hour, what's up?

Midoriya had forgotten. Under the new schedule, only the hero department had seven classes a day; the other departments just had six, so they got out of school an hour earlier.

All Might: Well, I won't be able to make it today.

Goggles: House arrest right? It's cool. Though I was surprised to hear you got in a fight with someone. Did you win?

All Might: WAIT YOU KNOW?

All MIGHT: HOW!?

Goggles: Well let's see. They talked about it at the opening ceremony, not particularly who had done it though. Didn't take long for gossip to spread. Even my classmates in 1H talked about it, and usually, they aren't into that sort of stuff. So did you win?

Izuku just stared at his phone for a moment before he could even think about anything.

THE. ENTIRE. SCHOOL. KNOWS!?

And then it hit Midoriya. That's what that weird student from yesterday meant by rumors.

Goggles: Hello? Are you there? Winning? Losing?

Izuku collected himself before typing again. He did wonder, why was everyone obsessed over whether he won or lost?

All Might: Sorry, was taking it all in. Is it okay if I swing by on Saturday just for this week then?

Midoriya knew Thursday, and possibly Friday would be quite hectic as he tried to catch up with everything he had missed. He figured, hopefully by Saturday everything will be back to normal.

Googles: Sounds good to me. I want to hear all about how your suit handled your exam on Sunday. Plus I got this new tool I want to try out, and your assistance would be much appreciated. Also, you can tell me if you won or not.

All Might: I'll help any way I can Hatsume-san. And yes, I'll tell you about the fight. See you Thursday.

Goggles: Until later Midoriya-san.

Izuku gave a loud sigh upon putting his phone away. He thought, great now most of the school knows me as the guy crazy guy during the Hero Festival and the one who got in a fight with a student in the middle of the night before the second term even starts. That's a great first impression to have.

Midoriya then left his room and went downstairs for an early dinner. He hoped while eating he might eavesdrop on his classmates as they discussed the day's class. A bit underhanded for Izuku's tastes, but he was quite desperate to know what he was missing in school.

After heating up some frozen spaghetti, Midoriya sat down at the dining table closest to the some couches. Currently, Sato, Shoji, and Ashido were seated nearby and were discussing their class with All Might today. But before Izuku could get any juicy details, he heard someone across from him speak.

"Afternoon Midoriya-kun," Mashirao stated as he sat down.

After a soft sigh, Midoriya responded, "Hey. You need something?"

"Ah well, I thought you should know Hagakure-chan told us about your past with Bakugo-san at lunch today," Ojiro said while scratching his cheek with his index finger.

At first, this surprised Izuku, but he was quick to realize that it was probably for the best that his close friends knew about it. But he would have thought Tooru would have at least told him that she was going to tell them. Midoriya then replied with, "I see. Did she ask you all to keep it a secret amongst ourselves?" He hoped this wasn't going to spiral into everyone knowing about it before the week's end.

Mashirao nodded before explaining, "Hagakure-chan asked us not to let the details leave the table before telling us everything."

Izuku sighed in relief upon hearing this. He then asked, "So what you think about the whole thing? A mess right?"

"A trash dump, yes. But I also found it interesting," Ojiro responded.

Midoriya gave his friend a puzzled look.

The tailed teen leaned forward slightly before saying, "Well it means you and me have a lot more in common than I previously thought is all."

Izuku nodded before replying, "Yeah, we've both had our share of being bullied."

Mashirao then said in a raised voice, "Yeah. And just to let you know, whatever you see in Bakugo-san is between you and him. I won't get in the way of that since you guys have so much history. But if he ever tries to pull a stunt like that again I'll-."

"I get it Ojiro-kun, you'll put a stop to it but keep your voice down," Midoriya interrupted. The increase in volume had gotten the attention of their neighbors.

Mina then asked from the couch, "Everything okay over there boys?"

Izuku was about to respond, but Mashirao said first, "Just lost my cool Ashido-chan. I'm good now."

"If you say so," the pink girl responded with a worried look on her face.

The tailed teen groaned before stating, "Sorry about that."

"It's fine, I can understand your frustration with it all," Midoriya said.

Ojiro looked behind his friend and said, "Well looks like I'm not the only one with something to say."

Izuku turned around to see Tenya approach the table with a serious look on his face.

Once arrived, Ida stated, "Good afternoon Midoriya-kun." He then looked across the table and said, "Ojiro-kun."

Izuku and Mashirao said in unison, "Afternoon." They then looked at each other, surprised they spoke the same thing at the same time.

Tenya crossed his arms as he asked, "Anyways, I'm guessing you told Midoriya-kun about our talk at lunch today Ojiro-kun?"

"I did," the tailed teen stated.

The class president then asked, "And you're okay with us knowing Midoriya-kun?"

"Well as long as you all promise to do what Tooru asked, then yeah I have no problem with it," Midoriya answered.

"That's good, I was worried that your girlfriend might have shared the details of your past without you wanting it to be known," Ida explained. He then took a deep bow before saying, "With that out of the way I'd like to apologize for my behavior yesterday. Now that I know the full story behind it, I feel terrible that I was mad for what you did. You're not at fault for what happened."

Izuku put up his hands defensively as he responded, "It's okay Ida-kun, you're our class president and just doing your job. I'm not angry at you."

Tenya rose back up and said, "Regardless, I'd like to make it up to you tomorrow if that's okay."

Mashirao then spoke up and asked, "And how are you going to do that?"

"Well, I'm sure Midoriya-kun has gotten tired of all these frozen meals he's had to eat since he can't eat with us at school. So tomorrow I want to cook him a proper dinner," Ida explained.

Midoriya couldn't agree more with this offer. Just as before school started, breakfast was delivered to them daily, but now that school had adequately begun the other meals were served in the cafeteria, though dinner was optional. And Izuku had indeed grown tired of his reheated frozen food and was quick to respond with, "I'd love that."

The class president smiled at this but then said, "I'm going to have Ochako on standby to make sure all goes well, and I should have enough food for another. If you'd like, Hagakure-chan can join us too."

This idea was sounding better by the second, Izuku thought. He then said with a grin of his own, "I'm sure she'd loved to come too. I'll tell her after I'm done eating this."

Midoriya then began eating his dinner, and Ida took a seat next to Ojiro. As he ate, he listened as his two friends discuss their plans for Sunday. Tenya explained that he was going to Ochako's place to meet her parents. Mashirao was going to do some endurance training with Eijiro. It seemed their partnership from the school summer trip had flourished into a good training partner relationship.

Sunday marked the first time they would have a break, and they planned to use it to their fullest. All Izuku had planned was the weekly video chat with his and Tooru's parents. They had skipped the last one cause both their moms decided to have their get together that night. He hoped that went well. He made sure to text his mom that he had passed and she was delighted to hear the news.

Just as Midoriya finished his meal, Sato arrived at the dining table looking quite distraught.

Ida adjusted his glasses as he stated, "Ah, Sato-kun there you are. I hope your meeting with Kendo-san today was fruitful in our plan."

Ojiro looked at his friend and said, "Dude, really? He looks like he saw a ghost. I doubt things went well."

Rikido sat down next to Izuku and sagged his shoulders before saying, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around what just happened."

Midoriya then asked, "Is everything alright? Did something weird happen again?"

Tenya and Mashirao gave confused looks upon hearing this but said nothing as the sweets hero replied, "You guessed it. She asked me to accompany her to some kaiten-sushi (a casual type of restaurant with ready-made plates of food on a conveyor belt) place she likes to go this Sunday to discuss possibilities for our classes to interact outside of schoolwork."

Ida shrugged before saying, "Sounds like this might go through after all. I don't see the issue though."

Ojiro put a hand on his chin as he said, "I think it's a problem because he thinks it might be a date."

The class president crossed his arms as he stated, "Ah I see. Certainly a possibility."

Sato rubbed his temple as he said, "I've never even talked to Kendo-san before today. I want this class get-together to work so I said I'd go, but I'm clueless at what I should do, ya know?" He then looked at Izuku and then back at Tenya before stating, "You guys have girlfriends. What should I do?"

Ida cleared his throat before responding with, "While I would give nothing more to advise you as I am the class president, I believe Midoriya-kun is better suited to answer your questions."

Midoriya pondered a moment before saying anything. The event did seem similar to when his girlfriend first asked him out. And this was due to being asked out of the blue, Izuku being clueless at what to do, and seeking advice from his peers. But the situation differed a lot too. The two barely knew each other, and it did sound more casual than what Hagakure had asked to do. Midoriya made up his mind and said, "I'll help Sato-kun but can it wait until Saturday? I'm still under house arrest and will be trying to play catch up for a bit once I'm back at school."

"No problem at all Midoriya-kun, if that's all I need to do to get the advice I want I'd gladly wait," Rikido replied with a thumbs up and a grin.

Izuku then thought I hope I have it all together by Saturday to be able to help both Hatsume and Sato to the fullest.

* * *

It was late afternoon on Wednesday, and Izuku was currently waiting just outside his dorm. All Might had sent him a text that morning that since he was still technically under house arrest, he would need an escort to the school. All of 1A had already returned home by this point, and those that asked questions why Midoriya was outside were met with the answer that he needed some fresh air. Midoriya did tell Hagakure what was going on, just not the reason for it. There was no use telling her if his proposal was shot down, he figured.

Izuku froze once he noticed his escort coming into view in the distance.

It was his homeroom teacher.

Shota didn't look particularly pleased about this judging from his face. Once he got to the steps leading to the dorm, he gestured for his student to follow. For the next few minutes, the two remained quiet as they approached the school.

Once they got close Aizawa finally spoke up and said, "Could this have waited until tomorrow?"

"Sorry sir, I just need to talk to All Might-sensei about something me and him discussed before the license exam," Midoriya explained quickly.

Eraserhead then asked, "That still doesn't answer my question. Why today?"

Izuku took a few seconds to respond with, "Sorry sir. I guess I'm being a bit selfish here. Three days of missing school has been torture for me, and I've been spending most of my spare time brainstorming the thing we discussed. When I finally decided on an answer I just wanted to get in touch with him as soon as possible."

The teacher replied, "See was that so hard?" Before the boy could respond Shota stated, "It's best to be upfront with me Midoriya-san if I ask a question. I might not like the answer, but at least we don't need to play twenty questions to get to the heart of the matter." He then stopped just short of the school's entrance and turned to state, "I hope you didn't spend all your free time with your little project with All Might. That apology better be on my desk tomorrow morning before school."

Izuku was quick to reply, "Don't worry sir I wrote it yesterday."

"Good, I look forward to reading it," the pro hero said with as little interest possible in his tone.

The two walked into the building and stayed silent until they reached the teacher's office. Aizawa pointed towards the teacher's lounge and said, "He's in there. I'll be over at my desk while you two talk. Be sure to get me whenever you finish." The teacher then walked away as Midoriya went inside to see All Might.

The skeleton of a man looked to have been pacing around the room as his student entered. He quickly said, "Ah, afternoon Midoriya my boy, take a seat if you would please."

Izuku did as instructed and All Might sat to the opposite of him. The former pro hero crossed his arms as he asked, "So what's so important to want to meet with me while you are still under house arrest?"

Midoriya answered with, "Well sir, I think I might have thought up another way I could be different than you were as the symbol of peace."

A small grin came upon Yagi's face as he stated, "Ah, a possible third step? So soon? I like the sound of that. So let's hear it boy, what innovative ideas do you have in mind?"

Izuku then explained, "Well, I've been thinking about ideas since we talked about the steps. But the gears really didn't start turning till your speech to Kacchan and me about us working together. From there I got this idea. Because of the house arrest, I spent most of Monday and Tuesday running alternatives against the possibility I thought up to make sure it was the best one, and in the end, it was." He then gulped and took a deep breath before saying, "Sir, I think it would be best that I be a part of a hero team when I go pro."

Toshinori placed a hand on his chin as he said, "Ah I see, so like a duoship? And who would be your partner, Hagakure-san? It's not uncommon for couples to do that."

Midoriya slowly shook his head as he replied, "No. I want to be a part of a bigger group."

"I see. Well, there's nothing wrong with debuting on a team and working under a veteran pro. Though it would be better to go solo and slowly gain sidekicks as you go if you wish to have a large team. You want to have a big presence when you debut, and being a sidekick on a large team will take some time to gain any significant notoriety. One reason I got so popular so quickly was because of my big solo debut. It's best to start with a dazzling first impression," All Might explained.

Izuku again shook his head before responding with, "And I agree with you sir, but again I don't want to be a part of a team like that. I think a group where everyone is an equal member is for the better. That way there can be multiple symbols of peace."

The former pro hero eyes went wide for a moment before he said, "Multiple symbols of peace?" He then closed his eyes and seemed to be in deep thought. The teacher eventually opened his eyes and stated, "That's quite a bold idea, my boy. Um, could explain your logic behind this?"

The boy could feel his heart rate increase, but after a deep breath he felt calmer, and he answered with, "Well it's similar to the idea of the first step, sir. Almost your entire career was done solo. I mean you had a sidekick once, but that only lasted a few years."

The former pro hero flinched slightly at the last statement. He then stated, "Ah you know about that. Of course, you would."

Midoriya then asked, "Is something wrong sir?"

Yagi shook his head and replied with, "It's fine, that talk is for another day. Anyways, continue your explanation."

"Well, the burden that comes with being the symbol of peace is a heavy one, the heaviest of them all in the hero business. And for one person to shoulder that weight seems like not the best idea. I mean I see it kind of like a pillar. All the heroes are pillars that keep up society, with you being in the middle of it all. The strongest pillar," Izuku explained. His face turned grim though as he asked, "But what happens when it weakens and it falls? The weight the others have to carry increases. It's something they haven't had to deal with for years, and maybe they can't handle it. So that's why I think a team that aims to be the symbols of peace means a much more balanced pillar system. If one falls, the others can pick them up since we would be a close-knit group. And perhaps together it might be able to lift more than just one strong pillar could do alone."

Toshinori didn't say anything for a minute before he spoke up and said, "That's quite a metaphor."

Midoriya responded with, "Thank you, sir."

"But," All Might began as he raised an index finger. He then paused before continuing, "Is this something we can work on while here at school? I mean I like the idea, but there's not much we can do to train you for such a grand scheme by yourself in our private lessons."

Izuku stood up at this and stated, "I've got a plan for that!"

Toshinori aback by this and asked, "You do?"

"Yes! I thought we could do mock team training with some of the students in my class after school and go from there," Izuku explained gleefully.

Yagi then asked, "And who exactly?"

"Tooru and my close friends," Midoriya answered.

All Might got up and said, "I see." He then walked over to the refrigerator and poured himself some milk. He walked back to his seat and downed half the glass before saying, "Sorry I needed that and some time to think. Well, this is certainly a very ambitious proposal. I think we can make this work, but we need to set some things straight before we go gun hoe into this, understand?"

Izuku nodded slowly at this with a concerned look on his face.

Toshinori held up his index finger on his right hand before he said, "First we need to get Eraserhead's approval of the idea. This is too big of an undertaking to not have him involved." He then raised his middle finger alongside the other and stated, "Second. I want you to talk to an actual pro hero team. I'll handle the specifics of everything, but I want you to hear first hand the advantages and disadvantages of being a part of such a group." Next, Yagi raised his ring finger and said, "Finally you need to get all your friends on board with this. That's what, five of them? The more the better. And the hard part here is convincing them without stating the true purpose of it all. Of course, that won't be a problem with Hagakure-san, but it will be for the other four."

All Might then drank the rest of his drink and stood up. He then brought up his right hand across the small table in front of them and asked, "Do we have a deal?"

Midoriya took the hand, and joyful shook it as he stated, "It's a deal Yagi-sensei."

* * *

 **So yeah, this is the secondary theme of this fic, a hero team. Some reviews and comments note that I have mostly ignored the main six being together as of late. This was purposeful, as big canon plot needed to get done before I could start this ball rolling. Like the inclusion of the side ships, this plotline is so that the main ship doesn't get repetitive/overdone. A fic that's 100% romance that's this long will never last I feel. This whole theme was thought of since the beginning and was heavily inspired by QuirkQuartz's fics Awkward Energy and The First Generation. Not to say other hero team BNHA fics haven't inspired me, but these two mentioned are what got me wanting to write at all. The first fic put the idea in my head; the second cemented it. AE explores the concept of a duoship, while FG does with a team of five. I much prefer the idea of a bigger group (even if it's going to be harder to pull off). The difference here from FG is I wanted to give more time to set up the friendships (in FG it works to start it much earlier as everyone but Mina has known Izuku for quite some time, and because of the AU it's set in). The big focus for this theme, however, won't start till after the Internship arc concludes. There's are quite some big time skips in the Cultural Festival arc which I hope to take advantage of for this new development.**

 **So on to the rest of the chapter. The first couple scenes of course focus on Bakugo (though only the second one has him participate). He's been mostly absent in this fic, and by now it's too important to ignore. One thing about writing his character that is commonly done wrong is overusing his cuss word usage. Hopefully, I kept a good balance with this. I have to thank both the MinaDeku and Kacchako discords for helping me decide on nicknames for Tooru that Katsuki would use since that's a character trait of his.**

 **If your wondering about the study session mentioned in the Kirishima scene, it's taken from the first chapter of the second volume of the light novel. Now again, one can argue the canonicity of the light novels, but I wanted to address this regardless. Kirishima's character is super anti-bully and for him to wave it off as he did in that novel for Bakugo didn't sit well me, hence why I used him here. This might be his only big scene in my fic. But for now, he won't be a regular (at most just mentions in the Internship & Cultural Festival arc), I just felt his presence could be used here. This mostly applies to Katsuki as well, as at the moment I don't plan to use him again for quite some time.**

 **Did you expect that development for Sato? It is kind of out there. All I want to say about it is it's not going to be a straightforward as you think. I hope eventually the build-up I'm leading to for this plotline pays off for all of you.**

 **A couple of milestones with this chapter. First, twenty chapters, like damn. Just as chapter ten was a big turn in the fic due to Izuku and Tooru becoming a couple this chapter is quite significant too with the introduction of the team idea. Second, over 200k words written. Yes, that's even if we cut out my endless author note rants. This means I'm now in the top 10 longest fics ever created for this series. Hard to believe really, I wonder how far we'll go!**

 **Night Foilage edited chapter 9 and ended up making 89 edits, and is now 17,946 words, so quite a drop. A couple of hundred words were deleted as I significantly reduced the info on what they studied. Thinking back I didn't wanna just say "they studied hard" so I went well into detail on what they covered. However, over time I wondered if I went too far and Night Foilage agreed. I much prefer how I handled the later study sessions' materials, so I went with the much shorter explanations. If you haven't already noticed, Night Foilage has been slowing down on editing as of late. Work has been heavy on her, so she hasn't had much time to work on my mistakes. She did say things look better in May, so hopefully, things return to a regular pace soon.**

 **I got my first commission art done for this fic. The updated IzuTooru cover page was just a request; this is the real deal. It's some Ida x Uraraka art with some IzuTooru in the background. It's on my Tumblr if you want to see it, just below weekly update post 13. And it's all thanks to erijaime, also on Tumblr, for her fantastic work and unique art style in making it. You should check her out! And since we're on the subject of Tumblr, post 10 goes into my thoughts on Izuku ships again (this time outside of 1A), post 11 focuses on the start of season 3 of the anime, post 12 talks about my new baby snake.**

 **One more thing before I go, another friend of mine on the MinaDeku discord wrote an IzuTooru fic. It's a oneshot collection for Izuku ships made by TruWarrior, called Shades of Green. The first chapter focuses on MinaDeku, and the second on IzuTooru.**

 **See you on June 1st!**


	21. Convincing the Others

Chapter 21: Convincing the Others

An irritated grunt came before Eraserhead said, "So let me get this straight. You want me to approve you and some of the other classmates to play team hero outside of school hours?"

Midoriya gave a nervous reply of, "Y-Yes."

The pro hero then asked, "And All Might is to lead this?" He took a deep breath before continuing by saying, "You of all people should know that he went solo for almost his entire career. Can you see how nonsensical this idea is when you consider this Midoriya-san?"

This was going as well as Izuku thought it would.

As Aizawa lead Midoriya back to his dorm, the boy had told his homeroom teacher of the plan he and All Might made. He thought, might as well ask since Eraserhead was here. Izuku already knew it was going to be a long shot. This was a very unusual request, and for the most part, the pro hero was by the book with most things. Also, Midoriya couldn't count how many times he had angered his teacher due to his antics, which would be a factor in getting his approval.

But the point Eraserhead made hadn't escaped Izuku. All Might was a solo hero. Sure he had a sidekick for a time, but he was never on a team. Midoriya had hoped that at least from being the top hero, his idol had been asked many times over the years to join other heroes during very dangerous or difficult missions. Sure it wouldn't be as much experience as someone on an actual team, but it should be enough to be able to teach about it.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I truly feel it would be best to carry All Might-sensei's legacy as the Symbol of Peace with a team instead of alone like he did," Izuku pleaded.

Aizawa slowed his pace before coming to a stop. He then looked back at his student to say, "It's not that I don't disagree with you Midoriya-san on that point, but the timing and method of which you are suggesting couldn't be worse."

The boy gave a surprised look before asking, "In what way?"

Shota sighed before replying with, "Look if after tomorrow's classes you still have the urge to do this then we'll talk more. Until then keep these crazy thoughts to yourself."

Midoriya took a moment to think this over. He was getting a chance, but what about tomorrow would make him change his mind. Did this have something to do with the internship he overheard from his classmates on Monday? With Izuku figuring he didn't have any other options he responded gleefully with, "Thank you, sir. I can't wait to go back to school tomorrow."

Aizawa turned around and began walking before saying, "We'll see about that."

* * *

Izuku was currently at his desk writing. Just minutes ago he had finished a home-cooked meal with his friends. Tenya, with Ochako's guidance, had made a savory vegetable soup for him and Tooru. And Midoriya enjoyed every spoonful as he had grown tired of all his microwaved frozen meals, besides breakfast, from the past few days. He was tempted to bring up what he had discussed with All Might to them all, but he wanted more time to think up of a game plan on how to tell them.

Tooru seemed to notice something was off and asked what was up as the others prepared the meal. Izuku only answered that they would discuss it tomorrow. He had already promised his girlfriend on Tuesday they would talk more about what had happened on Sunday night. Midoriya figured that would be the best time to tell Hagakure as classes would be over, he would have talked to his homeroom teacher, and by then hopefully come up with a plan on how to tell her about the team concept.

Izuku knew that he wanted to tell them all in person. The fastest way to tell everyone would be as a group message but he felt it might not be so convincing. Midoriya instead wanted to tackle the question with each of his friends individually. This way he could make a specific plan for each.

To start, the boy listed his friends' names and was putting pointers next to each in how to convince them. Midoriya had ordered them in easiness as well. At the top were Hagakure and Uraraka. He felt both would probably be for the plan the most, because of the supportive nature of their quirks and would benefit the most from making a team. Next came Ojiro, as Midoriya thought while his quirk was defensive and could benefit in having offensive partners he could still function well enough on his own cause of his experience with Muay Thai. The most significant hurdles to him were going to be Ida and Yaoyorozu. Both were the top students in the class in grades and were from wealthy families. Midoriya figured they already had a well thought out plan about how they wanted to go about their hero careers because of these factors. So playing mock team up during school might not align with their goals.

About half an hour of thinking and writing passed before Izuku heard a knock at his door. After flipping over his notes, he carefully went to open the door to find Mashirao standing on the side.

"Evening," The tailed teen said with a small grin plastered on his face.

Midoriya returned a smile before saying, "Hey, Ojiro-kun. Is something up?"

Ojiro gave a quick nod before lowering his voice to say, "Yeah, I'm in a bit of a pickle. I need some advice if you can spare it."

Izuku stepped aside and opened his door wider before responding, "Oh, then please come in." Once his friend had walked inside, and he had closed the door, he looked around to see a troubled look on his guest's face.

"Before I begin. I noticed that you left earlier with Aizawa-sensei," the tailed teen stated. He then paused a moment before asking, "Is everything alright?"

Izuku took a few seconds to think of an excuse and then replied, "O-Oh that? I was turning in my letter of apology to Aizawa-sensei. It was one of the conditions I had to meet before I could go back to attending classes." In truth, he was to give the letter to his teacher the following morning, but it was the best he could come up with such little notice.

Mashirao quickly asked, "So you're in the clear?"

"Yes. Everything's fine, I promise," Midoriya held up his hands defensively. He figured that Eraserhead would accept what he had written, it wasn't hard to explain the various reasons for what he did as wrong.

Ojiro sighed in relief before saying, "That's good to hear. It's been awkward not having you in class or at meals. So when I saw you leave I got worried that something else had come up."

Midoriya walked up and put a hand on his friend's shoulder before stating, "Don't worry Ojiro-kun, I'm one hundred percent going to class tomorrow. Okay?"

The tailed teen gave a smile and a nod upon being reassured all was well.

Izuku then took his hand off his guest and walked over to his bed. He sat down and asked, "So what's been troubling you?"

Mashirao crossed his arms and looked to the side before asking, "Well, do you remember Yaoyorozu-san's offer to study with me?"

Izuku slowly nodded to this. He also found it curious that his friend was still using the san honorific with Momo.

"Well, she asked if I'd be up to a lesson this Sunday," Ojiro said in a low voice.

Midoriya then asked, "Why though? School just started."

Ojiro turned his head towards his host and answered, "Well we have math class this term. The material Ectoplasm-sensei is teaching has been pretty rough for me. I think Yaoyorozu-san noticed me struggling and thought to ask if she could help." He took a deep breath before continuing with, "You missed this cause of being under house arrest and all, but today Yaoyorozu-san offered to the class a lesson prep session she would host each Sunday morning. It's optional but I wanted to attend regardless. Then after lunch, she pulled me aside and offered an extra private lesson afterward if I wanted."

Izuku squinted his eyes and asked, "You said yes, didn't you?"

Mashirao's shoulders sagged as he answered with, "Yeah I did. It didn't feel right to say no."

Memories came flooding back to Izuku. He then said, "I know that feeling. When Tooru asked me to go on our first date, I felt the same way."

"Asking to get together to study and asking to go shopping are two very different scenarios Midoriya-kun. But I guess we're both idiots who can't turn down a nice girl," Ojiro stated before giving a quick chuckle. Afterward, he said, "The important detail, however, is she said we would study in her room."

"That is c-concerning," Midoriya nervously replied. Yaoyorozu's place, as he remembered from the room competition on their first day, was dominated by her bed and bookcases. Where would they study? On her bed? Either way, Izuku cleared his throat before asking, "So what advice are you exactly looking for from me?"

"Being able to point out her exact intentions of doing this I guess. I think I can handle being in her room alone as weird as it might be. But I'm more concerned if Yaoyorozu-san is trying to be a helpful friend or something more," the tailed teen explained in a serious tone.

Midoriya put a hand up to his chin before saying, "I see. Give me some time to think."

For the next couple of minutes, Izuku wracked his brain trying to come up with an answer for his friend. He tried to recall all the early interactions he had with Tooru. When exactly did she change from seeing him as a friend to potentially as a boyfriend? Was Hagakure even being subtle or being quite heavy about it when she was? It was hard to recall if she was, and it confused Midoriya. Eventually, he responded back with, "Well, Hagakure-chan and Yaoyorozu-chan are quite different. I don't think my experiences with Tooru can compare to how our vice president would allude to being interested in you."

Upon hearing the answer, Ojiro's face had a look of disappointment.

Izuku was quick to continue by saying, "But I still think there may be a way to tell or not."

Mashirao lifted his head, and his face changed to look curious.

"Well, I guess the first sign would be if Yaoyorozu-chan wants to talk with you beyond the study lesson. Like topics that are more personal than what we would normally discuss during our lunches last semester. Tooru was very persistent in wanting to know more about me when we were alone, more so than if there were others around. Though I can't say for sure at what point she became interested in me," Midoriya explained. He paused for a moment for continuing with, "Beyond that there's not much I can think of. But, if you don't mind, perhaps you can tell me how it went afterward. Maybe they'll be signs I can catch that you will miss."

Ojiro sighed in relief before saying, "I don't mind telling you whatever happens. And thanks for the advice. I know this is asking a lot of you, but I'm just not feeling very confident about myself about this whole deal."

Izuku crossed his arms as he asked, "Is this because you still feel like you don't deserve to have such a girl possibly like you?"

The tailed teen gave a weak nod.

"Well, I've already told you how I feel about you Ojiro-kun. If Yaoyorozu-chan is into you, perhaps it's for the same reasons I see you as a good person," Midoriya tried to argue.

Mashirao waved his right hand in dismissal as he stated, "Yeah yeah I get it. But I still don't think it would be enough to woo her. It doesn't make sense."

Izuku sighed internally. His friend wasn't going to budge on this. It bothered him that Mashirao didn't see himself as good enough for her, but pushing it further right now wouldn't help he figured.

Ojiro then stated, "Well regardless, thanks for hearing me out. I feel a bit more calm about Sunday now. I'll see ya tomorrow in class." He then started to make his way towards the door.

Midoriya quickly got up and said, "Wait!"

Mashirao stopped and turned around with a perplexed look on his face. He then asked, "Did you think of something else?"

Izuku clasped his hands together and slowly responded with, "Well you see there's something unrelated to your reason coming here I'd like to discuss with you."

The tailed teen raised an eyebrow before asking, "What's up? Girl trouble again?"

"No, no. It has nothing to do with Tooru," Midoriya stated as he raised his hands up defensively. He then lowered his arms and took a deep breath before saying, "It might take a while to talk about though."

Ojiro walked over to his host's desk chair and took a seat. He then said, "Well, it's not too late so let's hear it."

Izuku sat down and took a few moments to take some deep breaths. During this, he considered what he was about to do. Midoriya saw an opportunity to tell his friend about the team concept. Sure he had just started planning how he was going to tell everyone, but then this happened. Mashirao was here alone with him right now, and it couldn't hurt to try and convince him. It would be good practice for the others because he thought bringing Tooru onboard wouldn't be as difficult as his friends.

"So I've been thinking that I want to be a part of a hero team once I go pro," Midoriya finally said after a few seconds of silence.

"Um, that's very typical of most heroes once they get their official hero license. I'm sure most of our classmates have the same idea, save for maybe Bakugo-san, for obvious reasons," Ojiro replied.

Midoriya was quick to respond with, "I understand that, but I want to start as a part of my own team, not someone else's. And the team would have everyone as equals, not a lead hero and their sidekicks."

After hearing this, Mashirao brought a hand to his chin and looked to be deep in thought. A few seconds passed before he asked, "And what does this have to do with me? You're not trying to recruit me for after we graduate, are you? I mean I'm flattered if so, but this a bit too forward-thinking for me."

Izuku shook his head and replied, "Nothing like that. I've been talking with Aizawa-sensei about doing some after-school training that focuses on team building. I want to do this as soon as I go pro so I want to get as much experience as I can before that. So far in school, we've only really had partners during our exercises. Nothing about working in big groups, and who knows when we will get to that point in the hero course and how much focus it will have."

The room was silent for a while as Ojiro thought about what he had just heard. Eventually, he spoke up and said, "So you need people to train with, huh?"

Midoriya nodded before stating, "Yeah and I want to get everyone in our group on board."

"I see. Welp, sign me up," Mashirao answered with confidence.

Izuku's mouth went agape for a moment before he asked, "Wait, you're for the idea?"

"Yep. Let's make a mock hero team," Mashirao said with a wide grin.

Tapping his forehead, Midoriya stated, "I haven't even given you the specifics or anything yet. Shouldn't you need more time to think it over?"

The tailed teen shrugged and replied, "I see no need. It sounds interesting and fun. And we get the unique opportunity to hang out with our group of friends some more. What's there to argue about?"

Midoriya brought a hand to his face. He wondered, was he overthinking this again? Or was this just because this involved Ojiro? Would the others be as easy?

"Though I am surprised you got Aizawa-sensei to go along with the idea. Sounds like a lot of extra work on his end," Mashirao stated.

Izuku tapped his two index fingers together before saying, "Well actually I still haven't convinced him yet. I'm talking to him again after class tomorrow about it some more."

Mashirao tilted his head slightly as he said, "You sorta jumped the gun telling me this then, don't ya think?"

A sigh came from Izuku before he said, "Well I was planning out how I was gonna ask everyone about this before you showed up. I figured it wouldn't hurt to tell you since you were here. Some practice for telling the others."

"Fair enough. Well, update me as things develop," the tailed teen said as he stood up. He then gave a thumbs-up as he stated, "And good luck convincing the others."

Midoriya groaned before answering with, "Yeah, I'm going to need it." He then sat up and stated, "And thanks for agreeing to do this Ojiro-kun. It means a lot to me."

"Anytime pal," Mashirao responded.

* * *

Izuku was currently making his way to the teacher's offices. It was Thursday afternoon and he was still trying to go over his weirdest class yet during homeroom.

The entirety of class 1A, excluding Bakugo, had been decimated by a single third-year student in Gym Gamma. Within a couple of seconds, he had subdued all the long-range quirk users in the class and then made short work of the close-range users. All to teach everyone the value of experience.

Homeroom began with Aizawa re-introducing the class to the upcoming internship since Izuku was now back in class. It was long term but optional to the students. The teacher then brought in the top students in U.A., called the Big Three. Midoriya was startled to see the odd teen he had met while taking the trash out to the dumpster on Monday was among them.

Mirio Togata was his name, with the other two being Tamaki Amajiki and Nejire Hado. Tamaki was soft-spoken and too scared to address the class. Nejire was too curious about the 1A students and asked various questions about their appearances instead. So it was up to the energetic and goofy Mirio to take the lead. But after a failure to win everyone over with his introduction, he then challenged 1A to see the benefits that the internship can offer instead of through speech.

Izuku didn't know what to think as he and his classmates entered the gym, but it only took a few moments for him and everyone else to realize what Mirio was capable of. And once the senior turned his attention to the other students, they didn't fare any better. Midoriya predicted his movements but fell victim to Togata's Permeation quirk. It allowed it's user to pass through objects and once deactivated would spring him outward from any object he was inside.

Once defeated everyone thought the third year's quirk was too strong to counter but they were all surprised to learn that it, in fact, had many downsides. The senior explained how his loss of sense while within something, the need to control it in parts so the body can maneuver through objects without falling into the ground, and keeping up with it all during the heat of battle. Mirio stated the reason it was strong was due to predicting his opponents, a skill he attributed to the vast experience his internship offered him.

It all made sense to Izuku now though why Eraserhead had put off accepting the mock hero training the day before. The internship would get in the way of that. He knew it was optional, but he also felt this was too important to pass up. This would be real-world experience for his future career.

Midoriya spent the rest of the day trying to figure out if he should continue going forward with the mock hero team idea. And even now as he opened the door to the teacher's office, he was still considering his options.

The room was quite busy as lessons had just ended for those in the hero course, so there was still a decent amount of teachers that hadn't left yet. Izuku made his way to his homeroom teacher's desk to find him busily typing away at his computer. Once the teen arrived, Shota, without turning around, asked, "So. Still, want to do it?"

Confused, Midoriya responded, "Um, which one sir?" He wondered, was he asking about the hero team training or internship.

Aizawa sighed before answering, "Just answer the question Midoriya-san. Remember straight to the point, like we discussed yesterday."

The boy was still perplexed at the question. But he then thought back to the various time his teacher had them think outside the box. Then it came to him, and he replied, "I'd like to do both, sir."

The pro hero turned around in his chair with a creepy grin on his face. He then said, "And that's the correct answer. You're learning, that's good." Eraserhead then turned around back to his computer and said, "The timing for your playing hero team idea could have waited a bit but if your willing to do this and the internship I won't stop you."

Izuku sighed in relief upon hearing this. He figured if his teacher saw him drop the hero team idea so quickly then he wasn't too passionate about it in the first place.

"But if you truly want my approval for this, a few stipulations are in order. First, it will have to wait for now. You need to settle into your internship before we start adding the team training on top of it. Could take a couple of weeks or months, but I will deem it when you are ready. Second, I'll be overseeing the training along with All Might. I don't trust him to give you the proper feedback you kids need for this to work. He can be a real softy or heavy-handed. There is no middle for that man," Shota explained in a dry tone. He then cleared his throat before asking, "Are we clear Midoriya-san?"

Midoriya cheerfully responded back, "Yes sir! And thanks so for permitting me to do this." The terms seemed agreeable to him, even if it meant delaying the training.

Aizawa then reached over with his right hand and grabbed a phone by his side and held it up before saying, "Good, now with that out of the way you have a phone call to make. It's time to put your money where your mouth is."

The boy took a step forward and grabbed the phone. He then asked, "Do you mean I need to set up my internship right now?"

Eraserhead gave a single nod of his head, still staring at his computer. He then stated, "I want to make sure you commit to your promise. So call Gran Torino and confirm the internship." The teacher then turned his head and asked, "He is the one you wanna do this with, yes?"

With reluctance, Izuku nodded and began dialing. He wanted more time to consider who to work with for his internship but it was either now or never.

* * *

"You're late," stated an irritated Mei.

Izuku held his hands up defensively and replied, "Sorry Hatsume-san. I needed to talk to my homeroom teacher before I could come today." He had just arrived at the workshop in a hurry. Because of his house arrest, Midoriya had to postpone his usual Tuesday meeting with Hatsume and was trying to make up for it. The plan was to catch up with her before going to dinner. After that, he would then have his talk with Tooru. Yesterday during the meal, Izuku went over this with his girlfriend, besides meeting with Eraserhead, and she had no objections.

"First you cancel your visit and then come late on the rescheduled day. I said you were coming too often before. I didn't mean to avoid me at all costs if you could," the pink-haired mechanic said as she gave a soft punch to the boy's shoulder.

Midoriya's head sunk slightly before he said, "You're right, I should have considered your feelings on the matter. I promise I won't get into a fight again with a classmate."

"Well, at least you're here now. I need my handy dandy test subject to test out some new babies of mine," Mei said with enthusiasm.

"R-Right," Izuku said with a sigh. He wanted to protest but felt he needed to make up for having to reschedule and being late on top of that.

A singed hand later, however, Midoriya was again regretting his decision to be her guinea pig.

After a hearty chuckle, Hatsume said, "Well that wasn't supposed to happen." Once she regained her composure, she asked, "So how's your hand?"

Midoriya removed the smoking glove from his left hand just seconds before. After inspecting his hand then stated, "My palm has first degree burns I think."

"Really? It overheated? I even lined the inside with the best fire resistant stuff I got access to," Mei explained with a groan.

While shaking his left hand, Izuku said, "Well, we are talking about explosions here, not just fire."

Once the engineer had learned Midoriya fought with Bakugo, through gossip around the school, she was inspired to make a glove that could cause explosions. To activate it required the thumb to press against the palm, however, all it did was heat up, and eventually smoke billowed out of it.

Hatsume shrugged and replied, "This baby worked fine during my test runs while it wasn't being worn. Must have short-circuited or something. I'll work on it later, let's get you patched up first." She then got up and went over to one of the shelves by the wall to grab a first aid kit. Mei then opened it up and started rummaging around in it.

As she did this Izuku realized it had failed because of him. The short circuit must have happened cause his hands had become extremely sweaty. And this was due to Mei being too close to the boy. While she explained the device and observed the test run, she was behind Midoriya, and her breasts were pushing against his back. He hated that his first thought was Hatsume's felt bigger than Hagakure's.

"Alright got the burn cream. Now show me your hand," Mei stated as she squeezed some of the substance onto her index finger.

Izuku presented his hand and as the pink-haired haired teen applied it to his palm. He then said, "I think your glove might have malfunctioned cause my hand was sweating a lot."

Hatsume's face looked to be in deep thought for a few seconds before she responded with, "That might just be it, but why were you sweating so much? You had only worn it for a few minutes."

The boy took a moment to think up an excuse before replying, "W-Well as you explained the glove I got nervous it might damage my hand."

"I see. Well, good thing I thought to test it on your left hand. Your right one has seen enough as is," Mei stated as she was finishing applying the burn cream. She then took out some cloth and started to wrap her test subject's hand. As Hatsume patched up her friend, she asked, "So how has your first day of the new term?"

Midoriya took a deep breath before stating, "Complicated."

"Well tell me about it. We don't have enough time to test the next baby I had planned for us to have a go with anyways," the engineer said with a shrug.

While Izuku saw Mei as a good friend, he wasn't comfortable talking to her just yet about the mock hero training. Instead, he explained, "We've been offered to do an internship so we can get more experience if we want to. I want to do it, but the hero I did field training during the last term turned me down cause he's busy with an important investigation."

Midoriya had called Gran Torino only to find out that he was busy pursuing the Villain Alliance with the police. But what came next was even more of a shocker.

Hatsume then asked, "So what are you going to do now?"

"Well, no other heroes asked for me to work with them for the field training, so he suggested that I try asking Sir Nighteye," Izuku replied as he twiddled his thumbs.

Mei tilted her head slightly as she asked, "And who is that?"

Midoriya kept forgetting that not everyone was as well versed in All Might's history as he was. He then responded with, "Sir Nighteye was the only sidekick that All Might-sensei ever had. It only lasted a few years, but it's a significant accomplishment."

"Alright so go with this guy, problem solved," Mei said as she got up to inspect the defective exploding glove.

Shaking his head, Izuku then said, "Again, I said it's complicated. My homeroom teacher was able to get me a call with All Might-sensei, but he said he refused to introduce me to Sir Nighteye personally. He didn't give me a reason why either. But he did promise to set something up for me tomorrow after class."

Hatsume scratched her head before asking, "And now you're worried about what that might be? Is All Might that intimidating to be around or something?"

"No it's, I'm just confused is all," Midoriya answered. He then crossed his arms before asking a series of questions, "What happened between the two to have All Might-sensei not want to introduce me to his former sidekick? Is he thinking of an alternative way to introduce me to him? And if not, who does he have in store for me instead? I just hate not knowing what's going to happen. I mean I might be working with this hero until I graduate."

Mei giggled a bit before saying, "I think you're putting too much thought into this Midoriya-san. You only got a day to wait to find out. And this is All Might we're talking about. I'm sure he has the best intentions for you. He might be retired, but he was the number one hero for plenty of years. I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"Maybe you're right Hatsume-san. That seems to be happening a lot as of late," Izuku said as he scratched the back of his head.

The engineer turned her wrist to look at a watch. She then said, "Well if you wanna have dinner you'd better head out soon. Don't want to keep your girlfriend waiting."

Midoriya hesitated for a moment but then asked, "Do you wanna join us Hatsume-san? I'm sure Tooru and my other friends wouldn't mind."

Hatsume was quick to shake her head and say, "Minus lunch, I have all my meals here. Just a waste of time when I could be working or brainstorming on some new babies."

Of course, Izuku thought. But it didn't hurt to ask. He was hoping he could get Mei to have more friends, but maybe it was just too soon to try.

"But if you wanna swing by after dinner and help me some more than I'd be happy to have you," Mei stated as she spun around to grab a soldering iron to start working on the glove.

Midoriya responded with, "I mean I'd like to make up for this week, but I already planned to talk with my girlfriend after dinner."

Hatsume pulled her goggles over her eyes and began her work before saying, "Alright then, see you next Tuesday. No reschedules and no being late, we clear?"

Izuku nodded and stated, "Crystal."

* * *

"Well, that sounds exciting to me regardless. I'm still wondering if I wanna do this internship or not," Tooru said.

Dinner was over, and Izuku and his girlfriend were walking hand in hand. They were making their way to the usual talking spot under the maple tree. Midoriya had just told her about his options for the internship but nothing yet about the mock team idea. Hagakure did find All Might's refusal to introduce her boyfriend to Sir Nighteye as odd. She then expressed that whatever reason the retired hero was doing this was personal and that Izuku shouldn't pry too much right now.

The two then spent the rest of the walk discussing the new term. Even though Midoriya had missed three days, he felt so far behind walking into class that morning. Once he was done spending time with Hagakure, he planned to spend the rest of the day studying to catch up.

Once they arrived and sat down on the bench, Izuku asked, "So, do you wanna go first?"

Tooru replied, "Sure but I just wanna get the whole," she took a deep breath before continuing, "Bakugo thing out of the way first."

After taking a deep breath, Izuku said, "Alright let's start with that." He then felt his girlfriend put her other hand on his right hand.

Hagakure then asked, "You don't forgive him for everything he has done to you, have you?"

"Of course not. I mean I'm glad things have become better between us, but there's a long way to go until I have my friend back," Midoriya explained.

"Right, you still want to be friends with him. Sometimes you are too nice Izuku," the invisible girl stated in a huff.

Izuku was quick to respond, "Sorry."

"Don't be. It's one of your best qualities. Bakugo doesn't deserve it from you," Tooru said with concern in her voice.

The two remained silent for a few moments before Midoriya spoke up and said, "What you did Monday morning, really surprised me."

Hagakure grunted and then replied, "Well, he looked like a mess, and someone needed to patch him up properly."

The boy gave a smug smirk to his girlfriend which made her groan. He was happy that she was willing to help despite her feelings for his former friend.

"Anyways, I hope Bakugo lightens up a bit. For both of our sakes," the invisible girl said, as Izuku then felt Tooru remove her hands from his. He then felt her head lean on his right shoulder.

Neither spoke for a while. During the silence, Midoirya pondered what his girlfriend had just said. So she is giving Kacchan a chance. He immensely appreciated the gesture. Minus his lying, the only time she would get upset with Izuku was when the explosive quirk user was brought up. He figured Hagakure was tired of all the stress and anger involved when discussing Kacchan.

"I want to apologize for telling our friends about your past with Bakugo and not asking you if I could first. That lunch period on Monday was, rough," Tooru suddenly said out of the blue.

Izuku exhaled before stating, "It's okay. In the end, I think it's for the best they knew." He then paused for a moment before asking, "How'd you know that I knew about that?"

"Ojiro-kun said he discussed it with you," Hagakure answered.

"I see," Midoriya replied.

The two again stayed silent for a while until Tooru asked, "So what happened to your left hand?"

"Oh, just a small burn I got when helping Hatsume-san before dinner," Izuku answered.

Hagakure grunted at this. "Please be more careful. I've got no problem with you being friends with that girl, despite what Ida-kun and Uraraka-chan say about her, but I don't want you getting another injury on top of your long list of current ones." The boy then felt her arms wrap around his right arm, specifically around his brace that hid his burns.

"I'll be more careful I promise. I plan to ask her that we only work on more tested gizmos, and stay away from the hastily constructed prototypes we've been working with a lot as of late," Izuku explained.

"Thanks," the invisible girl stated in a low voice.

The couple spoke of nothing for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company.

Eventually, Midoriya worked up the courage to say, "So, I've been kind of busy as of late."

Hagakure responded, "With what? You've been under house arrest. What was there to do besides chores?"

"Think. Brainstorm. Plan," Izuku replied.

Tooru stated, "So the usual, but planning what exactly this time? How you were going to make up for all the lost time at school or something?"

Izuku took a deep breath before asking, "Do you remember that I've been starting to have private lessons with Yagi-sensei?"

Hagakure shrugged and said, "Yeah. What about it?"

"During my second session with Yagi-sensei, he told about these steps to be a different symbol of peace than he was," Midoriya explained. He then reached out and held his girlfriend's hand and continued with, "The first step was having a relationship with you, and forming a close group of friends. It seems he never really had that."

It took a moment before Hagakure replied with, "I mean I'm flattered he thinks that but how does us being a couple have anything to do with you being a hero?"

After slightly squeezing Tooru's hand, Izuku answered with, "Yagi-sensei feels that by having someone special the burden of being the symbol of peace will be much more manageable. I think he felt lonely being on the top and sees our relationship as a better alternative than to be alone."

"Wow," was all Hagakure could muster to say. She cleared her throat before stating, "Yagi-sensei is quite forward-thinking about us as a couple."

Scratching the back of his head, the boy asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, he's looking so far into the future. That's years from now, and that got me to think about us being together when we're older. I haven't thought about it much. Ya know, like living together, being married, or even having kids," Tooru explained in an awkward voice.

Izuku froze upon hearing this. He hadn't considered this either. Midoriya had been going about this relationship in the now, not the later. It was nearing three months that they had been together, but such thoughts hadn't entered his mind. Izuku at first thought he shouldn't have to think about this, they were still teenagers. But then the thought about all this planning for being the future symbol of peace. Shouldn't he also consider what this would mean for his partner?

Hagakure then spoke up and asked, "I said too much, didn't I?"

Midoriya was quick to hold up his hands and say, "No. No. It's a good thing. I mean it's something I haven't thought about, and I'm glad you brought it up." He then raised his right hand up to his head and rubbed his temple as he said, "But it's just a lot to think about, to plan that far into the future."

"We don't have to plan for it now. We're just kids Izuku. I mean it's daunting enough just thinking about it," Hagakure said to try and cheer up her boyfriend.

Izuku responded, "Well it kind of concerns the third step I thought up of during my house arrest."

Tooru replied in a confused tone with, "Wait, third step? What happened to the second?"

Holding up his index finger on his right hand, Midoriya answered, "Oh, sorry. That one concerned me creating the Shoot Style technique instead of focusing on punches like Yagi-sensei.." He then lowered his hand before saying, "But the third step has been on the back burner in my head for a while before he brought up the steps in the first place."

Hagakure then asked, "How long?"

Leaning back into the bench more, Midoriya then explained, "I guess the thought started at the school summer trip. The Wild, Wild Pussycats are a unique bunch of heroes, specifically their team dynamics. During training, I asked Tiger-sensei what it was like to be on a team. And it grew from there."

Izuku felt Tooru grab his left hand and say with enthusiasm, "You wanna make a hero team?"

"More like do some mock hero training while still in school, but yeah," the boy replied, surprised at his girlfriend's sudden change in mood.

"So this is what you wanted to tell me at dinner yesterday! Sounds fantastic! I've been wondering if you had the same thoughts about us teaming up as I did," Hagakure stated excitedly.

Midoriya pulled the invisible girl forward a few inches as he asked, "Wait. You've wanted us to team up as pros? Since when?"

Tooru leaned in closer and replied, "Ever since I thought about asking you to be my boyfriend I guess. I thought we'd make a great duo!"

Duo? Izuku's spirits dropped once he heard this. He then gulped before stating, "The thing is Tooru, I wanted to do a bigger team than just the two of us."

Hagakure then asked in an inquisitive voice, "Oh? How many are you thinking then?"

"Well I have no idea of how many I'd want once I go pro, but at least for the mock team, we're aiming for six," Midoriya answered.

Tooru was quick to ask, "We?"

"Oh, just an agreement I made with Yagi-sensei. I need to recruit our group of friends for this to happen," Izuku replied.

Just as Izuku finished his statement, Tooru launched herself into his arms and gave embraced him. She then said, "So you mean all of our friends too? Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

Midoriya hugged his girlfriend back and stated, "I thought you were still mad at me about what happened on Sunday night."

"Like I said earlier. I'm over that now," Hagakure said in her boyfriend's ear.

The two stayed in each other's arms for a while. Izuku was feeling so ecstatic about Tooru's reaction to the news. But then a daring idea popped into his head. Midoriya at first considered this was too bold to do at the moment, but he was feeling so overjoyed at what had just happened. He then separated from Tooru but kept his face quite close to hers; he guessed as he could feel her breath. But before Izuku could do anything, he noticed the students walking by were staring at the couple. He then said, "Hey let's head back to the dorm. We're attracting unwanted attention." He saw Tooru turn to see the onlookers. Midoriya then felt her grab his right hand.

"Sure, let's go," Hagakure stated as she stood up.

The two then walked at a fast pace away from the bench. After about a minute of walking, they slowed down.

Tooru then stopped not far from their dorm and said, "There is one something else I wanna ask about before we go inside."

Izuku gulped upon hearing this. He was hoping she wouldn't bring it up, but it seemed now was the time.

After clearing her throat, Hagakure said, "So about that gooey nude girl in the first part of the exam. What was that all about?"

"There's a perfectly good explanation. I promise," the boy tried to argue.

Tooru huffed, "I believe you, Izuku, but I still want to hear it."

Izuku recalled that portion of the exam quickly to think up a response. The first part of the exam was a battle royale. Everyone had to land six balls on three random points on their opponents' bodies. If you received three yourself, you were eliminated. Also, only the first hundred, out of 1540 examinees, to complete it would pass to the second part of the exam.

Even tho it was free for all. The various schools stuck together. And their main target? The top school in the country, of course. Shiketsu High was the primary aggressor against class 1A. And at one point Izuku found himself against a second-year girl from said school.

After a few seconds, Midoriya started by saying, "After I got separated from the group I ran into that girl. She was quite fast and agile and had no problem keeping up with 5% Full Cowl. We both then got ambushed by some other school and while I was dodging their attacks, I saw-."

"A fake Uraraka-chan, I know," Hagakure interrupted. "The real one told me about it that night while we were celebrating. You figured she was a fake because how she acted, and then when she arrived with Sero-kun to fight gooey nude girl off."

Izuku let go of his girlfriend's hand as he asked, "Then what do you want to talk about if you knew that already?"

"It's what she said to Uraraka-chan before she fled," Tooru stated with uneasiness.

Midoriya recalled what the Shiketsu girl said before fleeing.

 _Thanks for the hustle, but you're not the girl I was hoping to run into._

The comment did throw Izuku for a spin. What girl was she looking for? And why?

Tooru then asked, "Any idea what she meant by that? She's from a different school so why would she be interested in another girl from our class?"

"No idea. But it does sort of go along with what she asked me," Izuku said as he brought his right hand to his chin.

Hagakure took a step closer as she asked, "Like what?"

"Yeah. That girl wanted to know about me and not for tactical reasons. Like, why did I want to become a hero? At first, I thought she was doing it to throw me off, but her persistence in asking makes me think she was serious," Midoriya explained.

"Creepy," the invisible girl replied.

Izuku stepped forward and put his hands on his girlfriend's shoulders as he explained, "If I knew more I would tell you Tooru. I tried finding her after the exam to ask her what that was all about. However, when I asked some students from Shiketsu where she was, they said she was feeling sick so I didn't pry further."

Tooru sighed as she stated, "Gooey nude girl has been bugging me all week. And talking to you deepens the mystery. But I guess at this point there's not much we can do to figure out what the hell she was doing."

Midoriya nodded upon hearing this but then remembered back to them being on the bench. He gulped and stated, "Tooru I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for agreeing to do this mock hero training."

"No problem! I mean I've wanted to try the team-up thing for a while so this sounds even better," Hagakure stated in an upbeat tone. She was then startled that her boyfriend had moved his hands down and pulled them together. But Izuku kept his head in front of her's, again close enough to feel her breathing. He then put his right hand on the back of Tooru's head and pulled her towards himself.

A kiss on the lips.

Well, that's what he wanted but instead, he felt the skin of her face.

Midoriya had missed, he had kissed her just above the upper lip. Why? He mused, why during such an intimate moment did he have to screw things up? He backed off with his face becoming a shade of crimson and his mind full of regret.

Hagakure then said softly, "It's okay Izuku. You were just a bit off-center there. Try a bit lower and to the left okay?"

"T-Thanks," the boy replied before doing as told. And such a kiss it was. His first two with Tooru was short and sweet. But this was long and heavy.

Eventually, Tooru pulled away and said, "Woah there Izuku, we don't wanna get out faces stuck together."

Izuku backed away from his girlfriend and clasped his red cheeks with his hands as he stated, "S-Sorry it just f-felt so good, and I was so t-thrilled that you wanted to try again."

"It's fine. We'll both get better at it as we practice. I'm just glad you are more forward about being intimate," Hagakure said with content voice. Midoriya then felt her hand grab his right hand and start pulling him towards the dorm. The invisible girl then stated, "Now let's go home!"

* * *

"Eraserhead has informed me of his approval of hero team concept, so good job convincing him my boy," All Might said with a toothy grin.

It was Friday after class, and Izuku was in a small meeting room with his mentor.

Midoriya then asked, "Did he also talk about his 'stipulations' concerning the training?"

Nodding, the former pro hero stated, "He did. I agree with the idea of pushing back the training until you adjust to the internship. And having Aizawa-san around is for the better. I wanted to ask him myself initially if he would help me with this but I feared he would say no. But I guess my worry was for not." He then gave a weak chuckle before continuing with, "And how goes recruiting your friends?"

"Ojiro-kun said yes first on Wednesday night, and Tooru was thrilled about the idea when I told her yesterday after dinner," the boy answered.

All Might nodded as he stated, "Good. Good. And the others?"

"I'm going to try asking Uraraka-chan once we go back to the dorms today. I think Ida-kun and Yaoyorozu-chan are going to be the most difficult so I'm saving them for last," Izuku stated as he crossed his arms over his chest.

The skeleton of a man leaned forward as he said, "Well good luck with the others." He then cleared his throat as he stated, "Now about today's visit."

Midoriya gulped before saying, "The Internship."

"I have that planned after this," the teacher said as he got up. He walked over to the door and opened it. The former pro hero stuck his head out and stated, "You two can come in now."

Izuku eyes went wide as he saw Mandalay and Tiger from the Wild, Wild Pussycats enter the room, wearing civilian clothing.

"We're going to focus on the team concept first today if you don't mind," All Might stated as he closed the door.

Before Midoriya could say anything, Mandalay approached him and held out her left hand before saying, "A pleasure to see you again Midoriya-san." He then reached out to shake it, but she pulled him into a hug and said, "Thank you so much for saving my nephew during the summer. I'm so sorry we couldn't thank you earlier."

Suddenly both of them were lifted up in the air by Tiger as he embraced them both. He then stated in a mournful tone, "Midoriya-san! You great little fledgling you! To think little Kota might have been killed by the same bastard that killed his parents. But not only did you save the dear boy you took that villain down for the count. You kids grow up so fast!"

"I'm glad I could save Kota and avenge his parents," Izuku struggled to say because of Tiger's firm grip.

"I think that's enough Yawara," Mandalay huffed.

Tiger put them both down and said, "Sorry Shino, I got carried away there."

Midoriya then looked at his mentor and asked, "If you don't mind me asking sir, why did you ask them to come?"

"The type of team you described on Wednesday, I figured your inspiration was from the Pussycats since you worked with them this summer. So naturally, I thought they would be the best team to have this talk with," All Might explained.

Tiger cleared his throat before saying, "We're known as The Wild, Wild Pussycats, sir."

The former pro hero turned his head gave the large feline hero a stare. He then said, "Yes you're right Tiger, The Wild, Wild Pussycats. Do tell me though; I remember only inviting your team leader Mandalay to come today."

"Sorry All Might, once I told Tiger the news he insisted he come and see Midoriya-san to thank him," the team leader stated with a bow.

"I see, that's quite alright then. Now let's get this discussion started. He has another guest to see after this," the teacher said as he walked to a chair by the door and took a seat.

As Izuku sat down, and the Pussycats to his opposite, he wondered who his next guest was going to be. The hero he would be interning with, Sir Nighteye? Did All Might have a change of heart and invite him? Or was it someone else entirely different?

Mandalay started by saying, "All Might informed me that you wanted to know more about how a hero team operates. Particularly one where all the members are on the same standing as ours is. Tiger has already gone over with me the things you two discussed during the summer so I will be sure to cover different topics."

"I understand ma'am, and thank you both for coming for my sake," Midoriya said as he bowed his head.

"It's the least we could do after what you did Midoriya-san. And please call me Sosaki-san, we're not on active duty after all," the woman said with a grin.

Tiger then spoke up and stated, "And me Chatora-san."

The boy then nodded. He felt honored to call them by their actual names.

"To start there's pay. Because everyone is equal, the pay is equal. It's a double-edged sword. Usually, the leader or high profile members of typical teams get the highest pay and everyone else at a flat rate. To start off, this is a good thing cause you would get more money than a newly licensed pro hero who just joined a group. Though you don't get the opportunity to be as highly paid as you would if you climbed the ranks of a high profile team," Shino explained.

"In our case since we were schoolmates we all pitched in together to help each other out with finances during the first couple of years," Yawara stated while flexing his right arm.

Mandalay nodded before saying, "In fact, we all went solo for about a year to save up on cash to start the Union Affairs Office."

Izuku then asked while placing a hand on his chin, "What did you do when you were all going solo Sosaki-san? I can't see an agency hiring a rookie for only a year."

The woman then explained, "That's true, most specific hero agencies want you to work for them for a couple of years. For those that want short-term work, that's where general hero agencies come in. Their original purpose was to give all the solo heroes that didn't get hired to a specific hero's agency so they could still do work. Lots of new solo heroes sign up to these general agencies to handle their paperwork and keep track of their heroics. The hero can then focus on making a name for themselves. There's a fee of course for working under them though. Once they had enough cash and notoriety, a hero then starts their agency and things like sidekicks, interns, merchandise, advertisements, and security become possible for them if they so choose."

Midoriya scratched his cheek as he said, "I see."

"In our case, we all bunked together to save cash and worked a year on our own to save up for our agency, with a loan as well," Sosaki stated with a groan at the end.

"We paid it off eventually Shino," Chatora said while putting a hand on his leader's shoulder.

Mandalay nodded and padded her partner's hand as she replied, "Yeah, eventually."

All this talk of money was putting Izuku off. He knew that it was needed to be a hero, but it just felt wrong to focusing so much on it.

The woman then sighed before saying, "Anywho let's move on to how fame is calculated for a hero team like ours."

"Ah yes, the Hero Billboard Chart. We're probably at a nosedive at the moment in ranks," Tiger said as he sunk his head in shame.

Izuku tried to remember the last time the ranks were updated. The event itself happened twice a year, in May and November. It would rank the thousands of heroes in Japan by the combination of general popularity, cases solved, villains captured, missions done, people saved, and contributions to society. Then it came to him.

"You were ranked thirty-two in the last one if I remember right," Midoriya stated while tapping his head with his right index finger.

Both Pussycats went wide-eyed at this.

All Might chuckled before saying, "That boy's memory and love for hero facts never stops surprising me."

"I only remember the top fifty sir," Izuku said with a slight blush on his face.

"That's still very impressive Midoriya-san," Tiger stated.

"Thank you Chatora-san," Midoriya replied with a wide grin.

Shino cleared her throat before saying, "Now to get back on topic. Normally heroes on a team are separated in the rankings, but teams such as ours are counted as one."

Yawara nodded as he said, "Yes. It's why even a search and rescue group such as ourselves is so high in the rankings. Well was at least."

Izuku then asked, "The hiatus will affect your rank?"

"Without a doubt," All Might spoke up. He then said, "Unless a hero is very high ranked, a temporary hiatus usually does a heavy blow to it. For example, I bet Best Jeanist is still polling in the top ten despite his absence."

"Indeed, but It's fine Midoriya-san. We'll recover once we get back on the hero scene," Mandalay said.

With concern, Midoriya asked, "And when will that be?"

"Probably around the next time the Hero Billboard Chart updates in late November," Tiger stated after a sigh.

Midoriya looked down at his hands and twiddled his thumbs, "And what of Ragdoll?"

All Might spoke up and said, "My boy I don't think now is the-."

"It's fine All Might," the leader of the Pussycats interrupted. She then said, "She's going to work at our agency. It might just be paperwork, but she wants to be still helpful to the team, even if it's from the sidelines."

Izuku was happy to hear the news but was hoping he would hear something else. He wondered, could One for All give back what was stolen. Had the Pussycats tried to find out if this was possible? Midoriya figured he already prodded enough and said, "Thanks for telling me. And I hope everything works out for all of you. But I guess to get back on topic, is there any disadvantage to rankings if you are on such a team? It sounds like a win-win situation since all your efforts are combined as one."

"There is one. Because you are grouped as one unless your team breaks the top ten, it's common for people to only recognize your team but not it's individuals," Mandalay answered.

Tiger snorted before saying, "Yeah can't remember how many times I've rescued a person and they had no idea what my hero name was, just our group name. Not that it bothers me but for some heroes that would be an issue."

Midoriya glanced over at All Might who was giving his student a particular look. He guessed it concerned the former pro hero's one gripe about being on a team from Wednesday, how affected one's popularity. Izuku knew from experience that his mentor was dead set on the idea that a hero's reputation was the fastest and most direct way to be the new symbol of peace the fastest.

Izuku's thoughts ceased however when Shino spoke up and explained, "But probably the biggest piece of advice I can give you is that when setting up a team you need to have a theme. Having a team theme is key to standing out and building instant recognition for your look and style. In our case, it's in our hero suits and poses, but you can go about it other ways too. Sometimes it's having a group of heroes with similar quirks. Other times it's a theme of super moves or even strategy they employ during battle. And finally, it can also be what type of work you want your team to do. The Wild, Wild Pussycats, of course, specialize in search and rescue, especially in the wilderness or mountain regions."

A theme. Midoriya hadn't thought that far or even considered it. Compared to the talk of money and popularity, this interested him the most. But what could he do as a theme his current team make up? Then again, only two had said yes so far. Best to wait till everyone is confirmed before thinking about this further.

Izuku then bowed his head and stated, "Thanks for the advice Sosaki-san, Chatora-san. This has been very informative."

"You're welcome, but before we go, I wanna reiterate something we discussed during your visit this summer," Tiger said as he stood up. He took a deep breath and clenched his fist as he explained, "In our type of team since everyone is equal, it's more like a family than just a bunch of coworkers. So when you lose someone, it's that much more painful. So go the extra mile and do whatever is necessary to keep your partners safe. Got it?"

"I understand sir. I'll keep that in mind," Midoriya replied. He knew Chatora was talking about this because of what happened to Ragdoll. Luckily, for now, this was going to be training, but it was something he would need to look out for once he went pro and made his team.

All Might then got up and thanked the two for coming over at such short notice. The visiting heroes stated they were happy to help the former number one hero and to see Izuku again. But before they said their goodbyes, the boy in question asked, "Hey, how is Kota doing?"

"The little brat is finally coming out of his shell, and I think I know who to thank for that," Tiger stated as he gave a thumbs up.

Midoriya grinned and then said, "Tell him I said hello and that I hope to see him again."

Both the pro heroes then came over and gave one last hug to the boy and said their goodbyes.

Once they had left, All Might closed the door and looked to his pupil and said, "I didn't know you and Tiger had already discussed this subject."

"Just some things, nothing as in-depth as today was," the boy replied.

The skeleton of a man crossed his arms before saying, "I see. Well regardless, it's good that Mandalay brought up the business side of being a hero. What did you think about it?"

"It felt weird talking about money when we usually just focus on helping people and fighting villains," Izuku answered in a confused tone.

All Might nodded and then stated, "A necessary evil in this line of work. It can consume some people but also puts food on the table. It's just a part of what the current hero system is."

A thought then came into Midoriya's head, and he asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what have you done with all the money you've made Yagi-sensei? I mean, you must have a lot of it."

The former pro hero walked over to open the door and motion his student to follow. Once in the hallway, he explained, "At first I saved most of it. Once I felt I had enough for retirement, I started giving most of it away. Charities, scholarships, hero academies, hero programs, you name it. Technically the retirement fund I set up wasn't needed, I bet I could ride out the rest of my life just on merchandise sales if I wanted. However, I made sure that goes to the things I just described. I'm fine with what I saved up. I don't need anymore."

Before Izuku had time to ponder his mentor's money management, All Might stopped at the entrance to another conference room and asked, "You ready for your internship assignment?"

Midoriya nodded and was surprised to see Mirio Togata inside the room once the teacher had opened the door. He thought, what is here doing here?

* * *

Izuku walked down the stairs into the common room of his dorm. Dinner had already passed, and he had just finished taking a shower. Midoriya sat down on an empty couch and looked around. At that moment Kaminari was trying to talk to Bakugo with little success. Koda, Shoji, and Tokoyami were chatting away. And finally, Ashido was on the phone with someone while looking inside the refrigerator for something to snack on. But no sign of Uraraka.

Izuku wanted to ask Ochako to meet him after dinner, but she left before he finished eating for him to ask. Just as he picked up his phone to text her, he noticed a message.

Encyclopedia: You busy Izuku?

A private message. Midoriya pondered, what could she want?

All Might: Nope. Just showered. I'm downstairs. What's up?

Encyclopedia: Oh good. I need us to chat. I'll be down in a minute or two to speak with you.

Izuku wondered, was this about inviting Ojiro over to study on Sunday? Either way, he was about to find out.

As he waited, Midoriya recalled his meeting with All Might and Togata earlier. While his mentor wasn't comfortable being the one to introduce him to Sir Nighteye, he felt the senior could. Mirio had been interning with the former pro hero's sidekick for over a year. And now, on Sunday, the third-year student was going to bring Izuku to Sir Nighteye's office. He was just hoping he got accepted. If not, not only would Midoriya opportunity of a lifetime to work with a former sidekick of All Might, but Aizawa might pull back his support for the mock hero training.

"Midoriya-kun, you're muttering, again," Momo stated.

Izuku looked up to see his friend sitting across from him sitting another on another couch. "Ah sorry, today's been a long one," Izuku replied as he scratched the back of his head.

Yaoyorozu then asked, "Is everything okay?"

"I might be doing an internship, but I won't know for sure until Sunday when I visit his agency," the boy answered in an excited voice.

Momo brought her hands together and said, "That sounds wonderful. I hope you get it."

"As do I," Izuku replied. He then cleared his throat and asked, "So you wanted to talk to me Yaoyorozu-chan?"

The tall teen nodded and then responded, "Yes, Hagakure-chan told me about the hero team training."

Midoriya eyes went wide as he asked, "She did? When?"

"Over the phone last night. She wanted to tell someone, and since Uraraka-chan was already fast asleep, she called me," Yaoyorozu replied.

Izuku had forgotten to tell his girlfriend that he wanted to tell everyone, but this works too, he mused. He then crossed his arms and asked, "So what do you think about it?"

"Conflicted," Momo stated with a sigh.

Midoriya knew she was going to be more difficult than the others. It didn't stop him from hoping it would all be easy though. Izuku then asked, "About what exactly?"

The vice president explained, "Well as much as I love to spend more time with you and everyone else doing this, I don't see how it would benefit what I envision to do when I go pro."

Izuku asked, "You wanna go solo, don't you?"

Momo nodded at this.

Izuku then said, "I understand Yaoyorozu-chan, I don't want to force you to do something you don't want to do. But there are still benefits to doing this even if you wish to have a solo career."

"And I agree with you Midoriya-kun. Hagakure-chan said the same thing to me, but I said I just needed time to think about it. And I wanted to tell you I made up my mind and am willing to give this a try," Yaoyorozu said with confidence.

"Oh," Midoriya stated in confusion. He was just about to list all the ways the training could still help her. Izuku then asked, "What convinced you to give this a go?"

The vice class president replied, "Well I started thinking, even in solo careers you still have missions that require temporary team-ups with other pros. So this team training might help with that." She scratched her cheek before continuing with, "More battle experience couldn't hurt either. And since I want to wait to do an internship until later, this will do."

Midoriya pondered what he just heard. The first two points she made was some of the things he was planning to tell her. But the part about wanting to do the internship later was intriguing. Why was that? It might just be a simple answer, but Izuku wondered if there was more. He then asked, "You don't want to do the internship right away?"

"For personal reasons," Momo replied quickly.

Again with the personal reasons. Midoriya didn't feel like pressing her on it since she did just accept becoming a part of the mock team. He then stated, "I see. Sorry to ask."

"It's quite alright," Yaoyorozu stated with a sigh.

The boy then asked, "Yaoyorozu-chan, do you remember Sato-kun's plan to speak with Kendo-san about the joint activity between our classes?"

Momo's demeanor changed to being perplexed as she asked, "Ah yes, how did that go?"

"Kendo-san invited him to a kaiten-sushi place to discuss the whole idea," Izuku answered.

Yaoyorozu placed a hand on her chin as she asked, "What are those? I haven't heard that before."

Oh right, Midoriya thought. She's not used to such things. He remembered Momo's fascination with the Donki store they used to buy their disguises during the rescue of Kacchan. She had never been to such a store with such low prices, because of her upbringing. It would make sense the girl hadn't heard of this type of restaurant as it too was quite cheap.

"It's a restaurant that serves ready-made plates of food on a conveyor belt. You choose what you want and then pay for it," Izuku explained.

Momo's face beamed as she replied, "Sounds fascinating, I'll have to try that sometime."

Midoriya chuckled upon hearing this. After calming down, he said, "Well anyways, Sato-kun is worried that this might be a date."

Yaoyorozu then said, "I mean it might be. Is he nervous or something?"

"Yeah, I did say I would help him tomorrow to figure out a game plan since I've been dating Tooru for a while now. But I would like some help from you too if you don't mind," Izuku answered.

Momo tilted her head slightly as she asked, "How would I be able to help in this Midoriya-kun? You're the expert here on dating."

"It's not about that. You know Kendo-san more than anyone else in 1A beside maybe Ida-kun,. I figured there could be some dos and donts to tell Sato when dealing with her. I can give him general information, but every girl is different. I don't want to give him bad advice because of things that only apply to Tooru," Midoriya explained.

After crossing her arms, the tall teen stated, "I mean I know some stuff, enough to hold a conversation with her. But for a potential date? We'll need to know more than I know if we're gonna help Sato-kun." Before Izuku could say anything more, she said, "I think I have an idea on how to find out more. I'll get back to you once I find out more, but for now, I have some phone calls to make."

Momo then got up signaling that she was about to leave, but Izuku stood up and asked, "Wait before you go, have you seen Uraraka-chan since dinner? I want to tell her about the team concept today if possible."

"Oh her? I bet she is still at the library with Ida-kun," Yaoyorozu replied.

Midoriya asked, "Why are they there? To study?"

After shaking her head, Momo answered, "No, Uraraka-chan told me Ida-kun was adamant they plan out his visit to her parent's house on Sunday. Knowing him, they'll probably be there for a while."

Izuku then recalled Tenya telling Mashirao about visiting Ochako's home Tuesday evening. He wondered, did the class president plan out his dates even more so than he did?

"Ah I see, I guess I'll just ask her about it tomorrow then, thanks," Midoriya then stated.

The vice president then asked, "By the way, besides Hagakure-chan, who else knows about this?"

"I told Ojiro-kun on Wednesday while he visited my room," Izuku answered.

Momo then asked another question with, "Oh, what did you two discuss?"

The boy was caught off guard by this. After a few seconds, he said, "O-Oh he just wanted to talk about what happened on Sunday night."

"Oh, I see," Yaoyorozu said with a hint of regret in her voice. "Sorry to bring that up again."

Midoriya waved it off with his right hand as he said, "It's fine Yaoyorozu-chan, I think it was for the best for both of us to let off some steam. Though there were plenty of ways, we could have settled our differences better."

"You can say that again," Momo said before giving a soft laugh. Izuku then joined her with a chuckle of his own.

* * *

Sato and Midoriya had just walked out of U.A.'s main campus and were heading back to the dorms. It was Saturday, and classes had just finished.

Rikido immediately was at Izuku's side when the bell rang for the end of class. He was eager to hear the advice that his classmate had for him. However, Momo had yet to get back to him.

Sato then asked, "Do you want to discuss this now or do you wanna wait till we get back to the dorms?"

But before Midoriya could respond both boys heard a voice behind them say, "Hey guys, mind if I join this chat?"

It was their vice president and Sato was quick to say, "Ah well if you insist Yaoyorozu-chan."

"Don't worry, I'm here to help with your Kendo-san problem," Momo stated as she gave a wink.

Izuku was quick to say, "Ah yes, I asked Yaoyorozu-chan if she could assist in the advice Sato-kun. It's as Ida-kun said earlier this week, she knows the most about Kendo-san."

Rikido replied, "I see. So what tidbits can you give me about Kendo-san?"

"Well after chatting on the phone with Tetsutetsu-san from 1B I think I have plenty we can work with," Momo stated with a thumbs up.

Yaoyorozu then spent the next minute listing the likes and dislikes of Kendo. Midoriya found a few of the details fascinating. The class president of 1B loves motorcycles, even though they were rare in Japan these days. Another aspect was that she enjoyed teasing Monoma, though that seemed to have lessened as of late. Izuku wondered why that was. It also made him wonder if Tenya got in touch with Itsuka to ask about Neito's change in behavior yet. Though school just started, so it seemed unlikely this had occurred yet.

Once the vice president was finished speaking, Midoriya stepped in and gave what advice he could. Before he knew it, the three had arrived just outside the dorms, and Sato thanked them both for the information. He seemed much more confident about tomorrow, and it made Izuku glad he could help.

Rikido then made his way inside, but before Momo could follow her classmate inside, Izuku asked, "Hey Yaoyorozu-chan before you go, how did you get in contact with Tetsutetsu-san from 1B with such short notice?"

Yaoyorozu pulled out her phone and pointed at it as she said, "We exchanged phone directories of everyone between our classes in our last term. It was Ida-kun's idea. So it was easy to get hold of Tetsutetsu-san. It took a bit of convincing, but I eventually got the information out of him."

Midoriya wondered what kind of convincing Yayorozu had to do to get the student from 1B to give the info. He then nodded and said, "Ah I see, thanks for the explanation."

"By the way Midoriya-kun, I'd check up on the roof in a couple of minutes if you wanna talk with Uraraka-chan," Momo said. She then made her way inside their dorm.

Momo must have told Ochako to meet him on the roof, Izuku thought. He planned to thank his vice president later as he made his way upstairs to put up his backpack away in his room. Midoriya then climbed the stairs to the roof of his dorm, to find no one was there. He figured he was still early and walked over to the railing to look down at other students making their way towards their dorms.

A few minutes passed as Izuku tried to collect his thoughts on what he needed to say to Ochako. Eventually, he heard the door open behind him, and he turned around. But Midoriya was surprised to not only see Uraraka but Ida as well.

Tenya raised his right hand as he said, "Ah afternoon Midoriya-kun, Yaoyorozu-chan told us after class that you needed to speak with us?"

So that was why Momo joined us after we had just left school, Izuku mused. She must have stayed behind to tell them this. He then said, "Um yes, I did."

Ochako then asked, "Why up here though?"

Midoriya cleared his throat as he stated, "Just wanted some privacy is all." That must have been the vice president's logic at least, he figured.

Ida crossed his arms and then said, "Well then, we're here now. What do you need from us?"

Izuku took a deep breath and then started explaining his thoughts leading up to the hero idea, asking the teachers about it, and how he had been recruiting everyone for the last couple of days. During the entire explanation, Ochako and Tenya didn't speak minus a few simple questions here and there.

When Midoriya finished, Uraraka was the first to speak, and she said, "So this is what Hagakure-chan wanted to talk about on Wednesday night over the phone. But I was already fast asleep when I received the message and didn't see it until the next morning. When I asked about it, she said it didn't matter and that I'd find out soon anyway."

Tenya then stepped forward and said, "Well regardless, I'm for this idea. When I go pro, I plan to take over my family's agency eventually. So training that focuses on big team training sounds perfect for me!"

Izuku held back a chuckle. Again, all his planning was futile. The two supposed hardest candidates had no issue accepting the proposal. In the end, Midoriya was happy that Hagakure had talked to Yaoyorozu. It gave her time to think and change her mind without any effort from himself.

"I don't know," Uraraka said in a wishy-washy tone.

Izuku was quick to ask, "Is something wrong Uraraka-chan?"

"It's just I don't know if I would be able to take the increased workload," Ochako said while sulking and poking her two index fingers together.

Pointing upward, Tenya stated, "Ah because of the internship."

Excited for his friend, Midoriya asked, "You're doing the internship too? With who?"

"Ryukyu, The Dragon Heroine" Uraraka stated.

Izuku was flabbergasted upon hearing this. That woman was rank nine currently amongst the heroes. And he found her to be really cool, as her quirk literally turns into a dragon. Midoriya felt a pang of jealousy but let it pass. He had the possibility of working with All Might's sidekick, remember? He then asked, "How did this happen? Did she seek you out?"

Ochako shook her head and replied, "No it was Nejire-senpai that asked me, you know from Thursday? Well, she interns under Ryukyu."

Izuku nodded at this. Guess the senior's curiosity displayed during class was more than just for fun.

"Tsuyu-chan was also asked to go as well, and she accepted too. We start on Monday," Uraraka joyfully said.

Midoriya responded with, "I see. Well, congratulations!"

"Thanks, Deku-kun but like I said earlier, I don't think I could handle the increased workload of this mock training on top of the internship. Regular school work has already ramped up this semester," Ochako explained.

"Well, it wouldn't be right away. Aizawa-sensei already told me that the training would need to wait till those that are in their internship settle in. He said that could be weeks or even months until that happens," Izuku tried to argue.

Uraraka looked to go in deep thought upon hearing this.

Ida then approached his girlfriend and said, "If you need more time to think about it Ochako, Midoriya-kun seems like he's in no hurry to get an answer right now. As he told us earlier, Yayorozou-chan needed a day to figure things out. You can take longer if you wish."

Ochako then shook her head and said, "No I should answer now. Midoriya-kun did a lot to set this up, and everyone else has already said yes." She then walked up to Izuku and extended a hand towards him as she stated, "It might take some time to adjust to everything, but given time I think I can handle it. So I'll give it a go for the group's sake. Besides, I'm sure Tenya can help me with studying if school work gets too much."

Izuku gladly shook her hand upon hearing this.

Ida then came over and wrapped an arm around Uraraka's neck. He then gave her a quick peck on the cheek and stated, "I'm sure this will work out just fine Ochako."

The couple was then surprised to get a hug from Midoriya. After a sniff, Midoriya then said, "You don't know how much this means to me guys. Thanks so much!"

The two looked at each other and grinned before returning the embrace to their friend.

* * *

 **Yeah so, five days late. *awkward chuckle***

 **Last week was my final week of regular work for this school year, so it was rough finding any time to finish this chapter. By the weekend tho I decided to do a significant overhaul for the chapter by cutting out the fat (it initially was 17k words, rearranging scenes, rewriting entire scenes). So am immensely sorry for the delay. The primary things I cut down on was initially Ochako and Tenya were told of the hero team concept separately, Sato had a scene of his own, and I made the meeting with the Pussycats a bit shorter. Also, the original order for Izuku telling his friends was Tooru-Ochako-Mashirao-Tenya-Momo.**

 **That was a lot to get cover, but I wanted to get through this cause we got some canon plot to get through again in chapter 22 (covers the time passed during the start of the internship) + 23 (which will involve the aftermath of the raid). Once it's over, we can then focus on the team concept for quite some time.**

 **One issue that cropped up was the timing concerning the canon. The manga, in one of its extras, states that U.A. is now a Monday-Saturday school. But the first week of school they have Saturday off. Is it because it was the first week of school? Either way by the time I noticed this I had already written they had attended classes on Saturday so was like, oh well.**

 **I was glad I was able to use the Pussycats again, and my gosh was I lucky that chapter 184 came out while writing this chapter. The reappearance of the hero team gave me a lot more to go with both them and the introduction of the Hero Billboard Chart. I already had a headcanon that Ragdoll would still work at the Union Affairs Office, so that was nice to see. I can't help but feel I might use Tiger again later. Who knows? ;p**

 **Night Foilage got around to edited chapter 10, which now 9,704 words and had 85 edits. We're already halfway into editing chapter 11. Hopefully, it and 12 will be done by the next chapter release.**

 **Some of you must be wondering, why didn't you go into detail about the dinner Ida cooked? At that point, I wanted more things to progress before he spoke to everything about the team concept. Which at that point felt like the only thing I wanted them to discuss. I really couldn't really think of anything else plot relevant for them to talk. I was tempted by the idea of Ida telling Midoriya what he had missed, but I eventually decided on wanting him to experience the first day back to class just like the manga. The explanation would also have downplayed what Aizawa wanted his student to see before deciding on the hero team concept. Either way, hopefully by now you've seen the art done for the dinner scene on my Tumblr. It does enough to tell you what happened. ;p**

 **Speaking of Tumblr, more stuff! Post 14 has a commission schedule I have planned (tho May and June's are up in the air as the artist I want to do it for has yet to reopen commissions for some time). Post 15 goes further into why I wanted to do a hero team for the story. And finally, post 16 talks about the romance progression between Izuku and Tooru.**

 **To make up for the late release, I will be releasing chapter 22 on June 26th!**

 **Some of you might be like, uh you sure your going to be able to do this? Worry not! First, the next chapter will be shorter (might be sub 10k words). Second, summer camp work (while intense) has A LOT more free time for me to work around. So here's till later!**


	22. A Dramatic Start

Chapter 22: A Dramatic Start

"You got the gig? Good going kid!"

"Congratulations Midoriya-san!"

"Y-Yes! It sounds w-wonderful Izuku."

Izuku bowed his head and said, "Thanks. All of you."

It was Sunday afternoon, and Tooru and her boyfriend were having the video call with their parents. They were in a private study room at the school library. This time her father had decided to come.

Midoriya, just hours before, had been approved for his internship with Sir Nighteye. The former sidekick to All Might was quite, interesting to say the least. Despite his intimidating demeanor, he oddly valued humor as one of the highest virtues of being a hero. Mirio had suggested that all Izuku had to do was make the pro hero laugh. And he failed, well at first anyhow. The details leading up to Midoriya's acceptance into the internship were still racing in his mind, however. Something was brought up that couldn't be ignored. All he knew was he needed to talk to All Might on Monday, that was for sure.

"And you start tonight. Talk about hitting the ground running," Tooru stated as she patted her boyfriend's back.

"Yeah, I hope I can keep up. I wasn't expecting it that quick," Izuku responded while scratching the back of his head.

Midoriya had told his girlfriend everything before starting the video chat. She was elated to hear the news and wanted it to be the start of the conversation with their folks.

Inko then stated, "Just be careful okay?"

"I agree. Just do what Sir Nighteye tells you to the T. This is about gaining experience, not more broken bones," the red-headed woman said in a strict tone.

Izuku nodded his head as he answered, "I will, I promise." However, looking at his mother's worried face, he knew she was still very hesitant about the idea.

Tooru's father then asked, "So any interest in doing an internship as well Tooru?"

"Nah. I wanna focus on school right now. This term already looks tough going by just the first week. Maybe next year," the invisible girl replied.

Mrs. Hagakure sighed in relief before saying, "Oh thank goodness. Just focus on your studies for now sweetie. Hopefully, things die down a bit by then. I'm sure All Might's retirement has some villains more willing to commit crimes."

Midoriya felt his girlfriend tighten her grip on his hand. She then responded, "I will." Tooru then exhaled before asking, "Now anyways, would you mind telling us how your meet up with Izuku's mom went, mom? I mean we had to skip our last video chat because of it. Izuku and I would have rather told you we both got our provisional hero license doing this rather than telling you over the phone."

"Oh, that? That's just between us adults I'm afraid," the red-headed woman said with a chuckle.

With a grunt, the daughter asked, "What? Why?"

"Let's just say I had to drag your drunk mother's butt home," Mr. Hagakure replied with a snicker.

Shooting a quick glare at her husband, the woman stated, "Honey!"

"What? I thought it was hilarious and precious. I mean you must have enjoyed your time with Midoriya-san a bunch to get that plastered," the father responded while shrugging.

Inko said while scratching her cheek, "It was an exciting night alright. Wasn't it Hagakure-san?

"Awww Midoriya-chan I thought I said it was okay just to call me Mitsu-chan," the red-headed woman stated in a pout.

Mr. Hagakure then said, "See what I mean? You two really opened up to one another."

As the adults continued their discussion, Izuku was baffled by this whole exchange. What did the two women discuss precisely? He remembered Tooru's mother saying she drank when stressed. But this sounded like the two bonded quite well. Did she also drink when just being social? Inko didn't seem embarrassed about it so it must have been a meaningful discussion. Also, Mitsu? Midoriya just realized he had never been told the first names of Tooru's parents or had told her his own mother's name.

The boy noticed the conversation must have ended when he heard his girlfriend's dad say, "Well anyways, how was the first week of school you two? Did anything else interesting occur?"

"Oh other than the internship and the new classes nothing out of the ordinary," Tooru was quick to say.

Izuku gulped and placed both his hands on the invisible girl's palms as he said, "However something did happen for me." He noticed both Inko and Tooru tense up upon hearing this.

The younger Hagakure asked in a soft voice, "Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"They should know," the younger Midoriya replied in a somber voice.

Mitsu then asked in a confused tone, "Um what are you two talking about?"

"The night after our exam. I got into a fight with another student," Izuku replied slowly.

Mr. Hagakure asked, "Like a fist fight?"

"An all-out fight," Midoriya responded. Both of his girlfriend's parents went wide-eyed upon hearing this. "And I was under house arrest until Thursday because of it," Izuku continued to explain.

Mitsu was about to say something but her husband was quick to inject and say, "Well I'm sure you had a good reason to do such a thing. You're a smart kid from what my daughter has told me and from what I've observed. Do you mind telling us why this happened?"

The boy nodded before answering with, "Of course."

The next couple of minutes the boy explained what had occurred last Sunday night. To keep the business about One for All a secret, Izuku only told of Katsuki's reason of doing this was feeling threatened by his rival's growth and feeling responsible for All Might's retirement. He occasionally looked at his mom as he talked. Judging from her face, she seemed proud, but there was still a hint of sadness. Their phone conversation about what happened on Monday had been an odd one. Izuku expected his mother to be furious considering her feelings about him continuing to go to this school. Instead, she was mostly happy to hear that things were improving between him and Bakugo as well as that All Might was the one to stop them both. Inko still thought things should have never got to the point that the two had to come blows to settle their differences.

"So you were bullied a lot as a kid then. It looks like things haven't changed much from my generation," Mitsu stated once Izuku had finished the story. She sighed before continuing, "I only take care of the little ones so I don't see the discrimination that would exist amongst older kids."

Mr. Hagakure put an arm around his wife to comfort her. He then looked at the younger Midroiya and said, "It was horrible seeing it while I grew up as well. Though with a quirk like mine there wasn't much I could do about it. I still hate that I didn't at least have the courage to stand up to the bullying of the quirkless when I was a kid."

Izuku then said, "I'm sorry I brought it up."

"No. I'm glad you did," Mitsu was quick to respond. She then rubbed her temple and said, "I hope for the best for you and your internship Midoriya-san. If you'll excuse me, I need a drink. " The red-headed women got up and left the view of the camera.

Tooru's father sighed before saying, "I'll go see to her. Later kids." He then bowed his head slightly and said, "And nice seeing you again Midoriya-san. Until next time."

After the screen at the Hagakure household went black, Inko spoke up to say, "Well that was something."

Izuku turned to his girlfriend to ask, "Tooru, is your mom going to be okay?"

"It's been a while since I've seen her that shook. Give her a few glasses of wine, and she'll be fine. Not to say that's a good thing," the invisible girl said with a groan. She then said, "I'm guessing this was brought up when you hung out with my mom last weekend Midoriya-san?"

"It was one of the subjects that we discussed. I considered bringing up my Izuku when she talked about the bullying, but I thought it would better to let her gush," Inko explained.

The younger Midoriya groaned before stating, "I thought being open about this would be for the best, but in the end, this happened."

"Well I'm both surprised and glad you did it. I mean yeah my mom's past got dragged up again, but I honestly thought she would chide you for breaking curfew or something along those lines. And it's not your fault for not knowing she was bullied when she was younger," Hagakure explained while rubbing her boyfriend's back with one hand.

The older Midoriya stated, "It's good you're trying to be so open with her parents Izuku. I'll talk with her over the phone later today to check up on her so don't worry."

"Thanks, Midoriya-san, I'm sure she'll appreciate it a lot," Tooru said in a cheerful tone.

Inko nodded before saying, "Well until next week. Stay safe, Izuku."

"Yes ma'am," Izuku replied with a firm voice.

With that, the application turned black, and Tooru closed her laptop. She then leaned forward to give Izuku a firm hug and said, "You're full of surprises Izuku."

"I'm glad I am. I want to grow as a person Tooru, even if it seems like it takes forever," Midoriya stated with a chuckle on the last line.

"Yeah, you're slow as a sloth at times in that regard. But these things take time," Hagakure replied.

Izuku cleared his throat before asking, "Is asking about the specifics about your mom being bullied too nosey?."

"Nah you being inquisitive is very much you, no surprise there. I'll tell you some other time cause you need to prepare for your first night of the internship for now," Tooru answered before getting up and grabbing her laptop.

"You're right," Izuku responded as he got up to go. He just hoped it wasn't too long of a wait to find out.

As the two exited the library, Midoriya asked, "So your mom's name is Mitsu."

Hagakure was quick to respond, "And yours is Inko. What about it?"

Izuku asked in a confused voice, 'Wait how did you know that?"

"It came up when I was talking to your mom while you were showering during our workout date," the invisible girl replied.

"Oh right. That makes sense,"

Tooru poked at his shoulder as she asked, "You still didn't my question though."

"Yeah. Uh. I was just surprised that such info never came up between us is all," Izuku answered apologetically.

"Right. The ever curious Izuku," Hagakure stated with a snicker. She then continued by saying, "Well since I'm sure you want to know, my dad's name is Hantou."

The boy sighed in relief upon her answering his inquiry so quickly. But then a thought crossed his mind. Izuku mulled over it for a few seconds before saying, "My dad...my dad's name is Hisashi."

Tooru stopped in her track upon hearing this.

Midoriya was quick to ask, "Is something wrong?"

"Nah, I'm just enjoying this more open Izuku I've been seeing in front of me as of late. You've really turned a new leaf since we came to the dorms since a few weeks ago," the invisible girl explained. She then grabbed his right hand and pulled him forward while saying, "Now enough dilly-dallying, you need to get ready for tonight!"

* * *

"Talk about a crappy first day," Tooru said in a sigh through the phone.

It was late Monday afternoon, and Izuku was walking back to the dorms. He was coming back from meeting up with All Might, and now that he had all the facts straight to speak to his girlfriend about everything.

Midoriya replied, "Yeah. Talk about not living up to my promise to save everyone."

For Izuku's first night, Sir Nighteye had him go out with Mirio as surveillance. The pro hero explained that they were currently in the middle of an investigation of a yakuza group called the Eight Precepts of Death. They were in shambles before but recently started to grow in power under its new leader named Chisaki. The critical interest, however, was that they had met with the Villian Alliance not long ago. And just to Midoriya's luck, he ran into the leader of the organization when a young girl named Eri bumped into him. She was scared and bandaged. It was apparent something sinister was afoot, but even tho Izuku tried to keep her away, once Chisaki showed his murderous intent Eri went back to the villain willingly to save her would-be rescuers.

"But even Togata-senpai said it was best not to pursue. You could have put both you and that girl in danger if you had," Hagakure tried to argue.

"I know, but it still leaves a sour taste in my mouth that she's still out there suffering to who knows what," Izuku stated with disgust. He knew she was right though. Even Sir Nighteye said it was too hasty to try and engage him as it would be too easy for him to slip away for good if they failed to capture him that night. Midoriya felt Togata wanted to do the same but was just following his mentor's orders.

There was silence between the two for a few seconds before Tooru asked, "Are you still angry with Yagi-sensei?"

"No, he answered enough for me, and I understand his logic why he did it," Izuku replied. He then groaned before saying, "But yesterday and today have been rough for me. I might turn in early tonight." Midoriya was quite distraught at All Might earlier though. He didn't think he would ever have this emotion directed at his idol, but he couldn't ignore what he learned on Sunday.

While attempting a second test to be for the internship with by Sir Nighteye, Midoriya learned a heart-stopping truth. Togata at one time was considered to be the All Might's successor. The pro hero rejected Izuku as the one Toshinori had chosen, but he did accept the student in the end for the internship once he noticed that the boy had preserved all of All Might merchandise despite the fight they had in his office. This got a laugh out of the pro hero at the ridiculousness of it all. Still, Midoriya figured it was only because Sir Nighteye was hoping that his new intern would see Mirio's outstanding fortitude as a hero and give up One for All to the senior.

Having learned this though, Izuku felt compelled to ask All Might why he had left him in the dark about Mirio and Sir Nighteye after class. The former pro hero's answer was merely he thought his pupil wouldn't benefit from knowing. But Yagi revealed much after that. His push to continuing to be the symbol of peace despite his injuries from his first battle with All for One was the basis of why Sir Nighteye quit as his sidekick. The pro hero couldn't bring himself to support his idol's refusal to retire a hero despite his failing health and quirk. Another reason though was due to Sir Nighteye's quirk. Foresight, the ability to see into the future to anyone he can touch and have contact with. Once a day it allows him to see the exact future of an individual for an hour from a first-person perspective, but it also allows him to see critical events of a person's far future of an from a third-person perspective. Sir Nighteye had seen that All Might would meet a grim demise battling a villain in about six to seven years, which meant if true it would happen this or next year.

The prediction that All Might was destined to die soon hit Midoriya like a brick wall. Yagi, however, stated that he believed when he started his fight against All for One, that was supposed to be his predicted death. But then Izuku and company arrived to save Katsuki. It reminded Toshinori to live for the future to be there for his successor no matter what. So he pushed himself to the limit, saying goodbye to his quirk to bring down All for One. All Might stated he would continue to struggle against his predicted fate no matter what it was destined to be.

While comforted and inspired by his idol's speech, Izuku still wasn't convinced that the omen had been broken or not and suggested his mentor see Sir Nighteye again to be sure. Toshinori though was still hesitant about meeting his former sidekick again. Midoriya eventually gave up on that endeavor but was at least was satisfied by what he learned.

"Well if you wanna talk more about this I'm always free," Tooru stated with confidence in her tone.

"Of course. And thanks," Izuku replied.

The two said their goodbyes just as Midoriya had arrived at the dorms. As he walked in, he took note of who was in the common room. Ida and Sato were busy baking in the kitchen. Shoji and Mineta were observing the two cooking at a dining table not far away. Kaminari, Jiro, and Koda were on the far side of the room on some couches chatting. Izuku was glad to see Koji become more and more sociable as the days passed by. Either way, he made his way towards the two boys and stopped in front of the table and asked, "Any idea what they are baking?"

"Cookies," Shoji stated bluntly.

Mineta groaned before saying, "Man, I can't figure Sato-kun out. What happened yesterday makes no sense."

This statement reminded Izuku of Rikido's supposed date with Itsuka yesterday. He didn't know how it went as he was too busy with the internship. Also, the subject never came up during lunch. Midoriya then asked, "Do you know how Sato-kun's meet up with Kendo-san went?."

"Turned down," Shoji responded.

Mineta rubbed his temple as he said, "And Sato-kun had a smile on his face when he told me. I just don't get it. Being friend zoned is like the worst thing ever."

Izuku took a second to process this before saying, "Wait, what?"

Mezo crossed his multiple arms as he said, "Mineta-kun I believe being friend zoned would require Sato-kun also to be interested in Kendo-san. He stated as much he just wanted to convince her about having joint activity between our class and 1B."

"Regardless, a girl telling you she's not interested in you romantically has to be devastating. Yet he's smiling like all went well and is baking cookies for her," Minoru pouted.

The green-haired teen guessed Mineta had a lot of experience in rejection for him to have such a view. Either way, this did make him ponder why Sato was in such a good mood despite his earlier behavior of being scared to screw things up. Izuku then asked, "So did he at least convince Kendo-san to do the joint activity?"

"Yes, though he didn't give us any details on what or when it would be. I'm guessing he wants it to be a secret for the surprise factor," Mezo explained.

Now Midoriya was even more curious upon hearing this. He then said, "Thanks for the info you two." Izuku walked forward to the kitchen as Ida put a tray into an oven.

Tenya then asked, "So how long do they need to bake for?"

"About fifteen minutes but it's always good to spot check before pulling them out. Sometimes they might need another minute or two," Rikido explained.

"Thanks, I'll clean up then while we wait," Ida stated while giving a salute.

Sato chuckled as he gave a half-hearted salute back to the class president. He then looked over to the new arrival and said, "What's up Midoriya-kun? Need something?"

"I heard how yesterday went," Izuku answered. He then took a deep breath before continuing with, "I was just wondering how you're holding up considering what happened."

"Ah, it went great. The food was good, the motorcycles Kendo-san showed me were cool, and we came up with a fun activity I think a lot of people between our classes would love to do," Rikido responded with joy in his tone.

Midoriya then asked, "Motorcycles?"

"Yeah, Kendo-san likes to hang out at that particular kaiten-sushi place because it has a lot of customers that drive-in on their motorbikes. She's a huge fan of them even though she can't ride one yet," Sato answered as he scratched the back of his head.

Midoriya nodded as he said, "I see." He then took a moment before asking, "But what about Kendo-san only wanting to be your friend?"

"Oh, that? It's fine, in fact, I much prefer this outcome," Rikido stated as wide grin came across his face. He continued by explaining, "I'm not ready to have a girlfriend just yet. And besides, I think Kendo-san is way out of my league you know. I'm just happy to have a new friend from class 1B."

Midoriya was surprised to hear how well Sato was taking it. It made him think how he would have taken such news from his first date with Hagakure. Would he be relieved that she just wanted to be friends? Or would he had felt terrible for not being able to satisfy her? Regardless, Izuku was glad everything went the way it did. He had a wonderful girlfriend, and she was a catalyst to him making all his other friends.

"You okay Midoriya-kun? You're mumbling," Sato stated as he put a hand on Midoriya's shoulder.

Midoriya was quick to respond, "Ah sorry. Just got lost in my thoughts there." He then cleared his throat after Rikido removed his hand and asked, "Do you mind telling me why Kendo-san turned you down?"

Sato shrugged before saying, "She just said I wasn't her type, though I was the first one she considered wanting to be friends with afterward. So it's something at least."

Midoriya then asked, "The first one? As in out of everyone else she's ever dated?"

"Yeah, lucky me huh? She told me lots of guys and girls have approached her as I have before. Kendo-san told me spent so much time studying in her previous school she never tried dating. She wanted to give it a try once she was accepted into U.A. and grew to like dating people even if none of them interested her in the end," Rikido explained.

Izuku wondered, just how many people had Itsuka dated? She did seem quite popular amongst her classmates the few times he had seen her. Midroiya then said, "Okay then. Well, I'm glad everything went well despite what happened." He took a step forward before asking, "So you two did think of an activity to do between our classes?"

Rikido nodded before responding, "Yep but Kendo-san and I have some things to work on before it's set in stone. I need to ask Yaoyorozu-chan for some help for one. She'll be our best bet in getting Aizawa-sensei to approve of what we want to do."

Going from what Shoji said earlier, Midoriya didn't think to ask what the activity was going entail was worth it and instead stated, "Well I'm glad everything worked out in your favor."

"Thanks but I should be thanking you and Yaoyorozu-chan for all the advice you gave. It really helped get through the day," Sato stated while giving a thumbs up.

"No problem, happy I could help," Izuku replied as he scratched the back of his head. He then looked over at the oven and Tenya washing dishes before asking, "So what's with the cookies? Mineta-kun mentioned you are baking them for Kendo-san."

Rikido responded, "She invited me to hang out with some other 1B students this weekend, and I wanted to try baking her some coffee spice cookies since she likes black coffee. I've never done this recipe before, so I wanna perfect it before Sunday, and besides, I'm sure our classmates won't mind the extra treats even if imperfect as I experiment."

Ida then spoke up and said, "Once I saw Sato-kun getting ready to bake I asked him if I could help. Uraraka-chan is a great teacher and all, but it wouldn't hurt to broaden my horizons when it comes to cooking."

"If you need any tips or just wanna help me bake anything else, just ask," Sato responded with a smile.

"You got it, boss," Ida replied, again saluting despite his wet gloves from washing the dishes.

Rikido leaned towards Izuku and whispered, "I have no idea why he's doing this."

Izuku tapped his chin and wondered if Tenya was acting like this cause of how Ochako taught him. Speaking of her, she wasn't in class today, and neither was Tsuyu or Eijiro. Midoriya guessed it had to do with the internship with Ryukyu she mentioned on Saturday for the girls. But what about Kirishima? Which pro hero did he end up working with? Either way, thinking of Uraraka made him curious about how Ida's visit to her place went. But before he could say anything about this to anyone he heard a voice behind him.

"Izuku you ready to head to the cafeteria for some dinner?"

It was Tooru, and beside her was Momo.

"Ah sure, just let me put up my backpack, and we'll head out," Izuku replied.

"I'll join you all when I finish here," Tenya stated with a wave.

Hagakure was quick to say, "Well hurry up you two! I hear today they are serving some more caramel cookies and I want the fresh ones!"

* * *

Midoriya stared at his phone as he laid in bed. Dinner was over, and he was considering going to bed early. But Izuku was still curious if everything was alright with Mashirao. Again his study sessions with Momo didn't come up during the meal with his friends. And neither participant was acting any different for him to tell.

For the last ten minutes, since he got into his room, Midoriya had been pondering if he should text Ojiro. And just as he placed his phone down cause he decided it was best to wait for his tailed friend to speak up about it, the phone vibrated.

Lion: Hey you busy?

Just my timing, Izuku chuckled to himself before writing a response.

All Might: Nah was about to go to bed, but I'm open to chat.

Lion: Ah, yesterday was a bit rough for you wasn't it?

Midoriya had told his friend most of what went down Sunday night. The only detail he left out beside the obvious was Sir Nighteye's quirk, as it was a well-kept secret due to the nature of its power.

All Might: It was, but all I think I need is some extra rest.

All Might: So what's up?

Lion: Well thankfully yesterday's study session went well.

All Might: You didn't study on Yaoyorozu-chan's bed did you?

Lion: Thank the stars no. We worked on her balcony, even if it was a bit cramped since she has a telescope there.

Does Momo like to stargaze? The thought intrigued Izuku.

All Might: Nothing out of the ordinary?

Lion: Nope, a little chat here and there but nothing outside what usually happens at our meals together.

It took a few moments for Midoriya to respond as he was curious at what Ojiro felt about this.

All Might: Did you want more to happen?

It was about a minute before a reply came.

Lion: I'm glad it went off without a hitch. I dreaded that it would be super awkward or something along those lines, but it wasn't.

Izuku felt that was logical thought to have, but before he could respond back, another message came.

Lion: But the catch is she wants this to become a thing. So every Sunday.

Lion: And I said yes.

All Might: Well that's good. You must have learned a lot if you want to keep going.

Lion: I did.

Lion: Is it wrong that a part of me wants this to go somewhere?

Midoriya thought long and hard about what to say. This instance was the first indication that Ojiro had stated he had any interest in Yaoyorozu. In the past, it was all just him thinking of himself as not good enough for her and not understanding why she would be interested in him at all. Eventually, Izuku thought up an answer.

All Might: I mean there's nothing wrong in hoping she might be interested in you. Keep going to the study sessions and see if she starts dropping hints or not.

Lion: Thanks, but I guess I'm a little greedy in that I want to know sooner. The unknown of this all is eating away at me.

Izuku had trouble thinking about how to follow up this statement. But then another text came.

Lion: You think asking your girlfriend to find out for me would be too pushy?

All Might: Yeah it does.

Midoriya felt sorry to be blunt but didn't think this was the right way to find this out. He then thought of a better option, one he would never do, but Ojiro might.

All Might: You could always just ask Yaoyorozu-chan.

Lion: Yeah I've thought about it. I mean I'd send a text to her right now if I wanted to, but I'm afraid of the reaction to if it's a no.

Lion: Like I'd be okay if it were no, cause at least I would finally know the answer. But I wonder if that would make our friendship weird.

Izuku thought back to the advice he gave to Tenya during their sleepover before the summer. It inspired him to make the next message.

All Might: Better to have asked than never know. The response if she says no can't be as bad as whatever is bothering you to find this out.

Lion: Right.

Another minute passed before a new text came.

Lion: I've made up my mind. I'm going to do a few more meetups with her then pop the question.

Lion: Sorry for my rant keeping you up. Have a good night's sleep.

All Might: I'm happy to help. However, this ends up going just know I'll be there to fall back on if you need it.

All Might: See you tomorrow.

Lion: Your too good for me Midoriya-kun. Later.

Izuku set his phone down and walked over to turn off his light. He then laid and his bed and pulled up the covers. Midoriya wondered if everything would be okay between his two friends. He hoped from the bottom of his heart whatever happened and that they would all still be at the very least friends at the end of it. Sleep then claimed Izuku as his thoughts continued to wander.

* * *

"Oh. So everyone agreed to the mock team concept? That's good to hear," All Might stated with a grin on his face.

It was Wednesday after school. The teacher and student were again in Gamma gym.

"Yes sir, I'm sorry I didn't bring it up on Monday," Izuku responded while lowering his head.

Toshinori shook his head before saying, "I don't blame you for not bringing it up. We had quite the conversation that day." He then crossed his arms before saying, "Regardless now you just need to prove to Eraserhead that you can handle school and your internship at the same time. If all goes well, he'll approve of this special training in no time."

Midoriya nodded upon hearing this. He was excited his idea had reached this far considering how far-fetched it seemed when it first started forming in his mind.

"Well then with that out of the way, we can focus on training. Today though I want to start with something new," Yagi stated. He then clenched both his fists and said, "We're gonna focus on raising your maximum output."

The boy titled his head before asking, "But I thought you wanted me to focus on refining 8% for now." It still needed work he thought.

"And we will continue with that in due time, but I want to see if we can push your ceiling. Having a stable base is good and all, but it will always be beneficial to have a stronger boost for certain situations, even if you can only maintain it for a few seconds," the former pro hero explained. He then reached out and put a hand on Izuku's shoulder and said, "Now I want you to raise One for All until simple movement breaks your Full Cowl. Understood?"

Midoriya was quick to respond with, "Got it."

For the next couple of minutes, the boy would activate his quirk and little by little raise the bar above 8% Full Cowl. Each time he would see if he could move and Full Cowl remained active. As he increased its power output, the more painful it became. 10%. 12%. 15%. 18%. But then came the next increase. The pain was almost unbearable for Midoriya, and his bones felt on the verge of breaking. He then took a step forward after maintaining the form for a few seconds, and Full Cowl instantly dissipated and fell to his knees.

All Might excitingly stated, "That's the ticket kid. Now, how much power was that?"

"About 20%," Izuku groaned in response.

"That's a considerable increase. Let's work from there. Now try it again and maintain the form longer. Even if it's just a step or two," Toshinori instructed.

After a couple of attempts, Midoriya was able to keep up 20% for a couple of seconds walking at a snail's pace. His teacher considered it enough for now and then switched the lesson back to improving 8% Full Cowl.

"Now that you are already exhausted this will enable you to refine further your base of 8% than if you started fresh," Yagi explained as he rummaged through a duffel bag he had brought. He then pulled out some tennis balls before saying, "Now I'm going to throw these in any direction I choose, and you must catch them before they hit the ground. After that, you must stay in the spot you caught it until I throw the next. And every time you miss, fifty push-ups and curl-ups."

Izuku slowly nodded. Today's lesson was becoming much harder than any of his others with All Might.

About a half-hour later a collapsed Midoriya was on the ground surrounded by dropped tennis balls.

"You did well my boy," the former pro hero stated as he knelt before his student.

"But I couldn't catch any near the end," Izuku said with a groan. The exercises with each dropped ball were what eventually caused him to collapse.

All Might offered the boy a hand as he said, "And that's the point. To push you to want to catch them even more. Besides, it's the first day of the training regime. You'll get better as we do this more."

Midoriya grabbed his idol's hand and was helped on to his feet.

Yagi then offered him some bottled water before saying, "This should be enough for today. But I want us to continue meeting like this every other day for a little while."

This intrigued Izuku. So far they had only been meeting to train once or twice a week since coming to the dorms. But this increase in workload and frequency had Midoriya wondering if there was a reason to it all. He then asked, "Yagi-sensei, is there any reason the training is stepping up so quickly."

The skeleton of a man groaned slightly before rubbing his left shoulder. He then replied, "I guess telling you now than later wouldn't hurt." He took a moment before explaining, "Sir Nighteye called me Tuesday night and said something big involving his hero office is going to happen soon. He wouldn't give me the exact details though. No doubt you might get involved so I wanted to try to prepare you for whatever that might be. Whatever it is, it must be serious for him to call me. We barely talk to one another as is."

The boy nodded as he said, "I understand." He wondered, had Nighteye obtained more information about Chisaki?

"Good. Now we have to get going. A senior class is scheduled to use the gym in a few minutes," All Might stated. he then sighed before continuing with, "It's getting harder and harder to find time for just the two of us here."

This prompted Izuku to ponder other places the two could train in secrecy as he exited the building. Eventually, a thought came, perhaps Mei would know. She had mentioned before she would test her "babies" outside sometimes, but where could that be? Midoriya decided he would send her a text to her later as he started walking back to the dorms.

* * *

Izuku was walking back exhausted from another lesson with All Might. But thoughts of that morning were what he was focusing in on at the moment.

It was Friday afternoon, and Midoriya along with Uraraka, Asui, and Kirishima had been excused from classes for the day. That morning each had been called by their internships to meet at Sir Nighteye's hero office. The students were surprised to find famous and local heroes there waiting. Even Gran Torino and Eraserhead were there as well.

But the reason for the meeting? The former sidekick of All Might was requesting a team up to take down Chisaki, and his organization as new facts came to light.

Izuku had learned that Eijiro was interning under a pro-hero named Fat Gum on Tuesday. It was hard to miss with him being in the news at what he did. Kirishima had stopped some thugs that had were using quirk enhancing drugs but a quirk canceling drug as well. Tamaki Amajiki had been shot by the latter which prevented him from activating his quirk until the next day. Eraserhead explained that unlike his Erasure quirk which only stopped the quirk factor from functioning with no damaged, the drug damaged it.

Kirishima was shot too by the drug but was able to stop it from puncturing him because of obtaining a new form from his hardening quirk. Through research and connections, Nighteye had determined both the drug and thugs that had been captured had connections with a middleman organization that The Eight Precepts of Death had dealings with.

The drug itself was later found out to be made out of human blood and other cells. Which meant, in theory, it was made from someone with a quirk that could destroy other quirks. And the connection to Chisaki was developing it was his quirk, Overhaul. This sinister quirk allowed him to dismantle then reassemble anything he touched. Eri's bandages now had an explanation. She was constantly being broken down to make the drug and then put back together for future use.

The thought still made Midoriya's stomach lurch. He had to do something and soon he would.

Nighteye called upon all the pro heroes he invited to work with him to find the location of Chisaki's hideout. There they could rescue Eri and stop production of the drug before it could be weaponized and possibly given to general villian populace but more concerning, the Villian Alliance.

All Izuku had to do was wait and hope the pro heroes and police found the hideout soon. But the kicker was this was all top secret.

Eraserhead had told all the first years, in private after the meeting, that were to keep quiet about the plan to their classmates. He initially wanted to cancel the internships altogether because of the possible involvement of the Villian Alliance, but then he remembered what happened last time Izuku had been denied the chance to rescue someone. Shota didn't want his student to try and act alone once more. According to Sir Nighteye the relationship between the Eight Precepts of Death and the Villian Alliance was shaky at best, so the chances of them being at the hideout were low. If they were present, Eraserhead told the students to avoid them and focus only on recusing Eri. The pros would handle the Villian Alliance.

Midoriya knew the importance of keeping it a secret. He promised to not tell anyone to Aizawa while alone, even Yagi and Hagakure. But it didn't mean Izuku wasn't uncomfortable about it. Training with Toshinori was hard on him because of it. And now he to deal with saying nothing to Tooru as well.

Midoriya entered the dorm common room to mostly silence. It was currently dinner time, and his training had run late but he didn't have the appetite. In addition, he received a text from Hagakure to meet him back in the dorms. The reason the boy's training was late was due to the location of it. After sending a text, he learned Hatsume's test area was a forest in the far back of the school. All Might and his student spent some time finding a perfect spot to do the training, so it was a while until they could start.

Almost everyone had gone to dinner at the cafeteria it seemed. But Izuku was surprised to find Tooru and Fumikage chatting on some sofas to his right. Both quickly noticed his entrance and his girlfriend was quick to walk over and hug him.

"There you are. Tokoyami-kun and I have been waiting forever for you," Hagakure stated in a pouty tone.

"Sorry I lost track at the workout gym. I noticed your text a bit too late," Midoriya explained. His girlfriend knew what he was really doing, but he couldn't blow his cover in front of Tokoyami. Izuku then asked, "So what's this about?"

Fumikage cleared his throat before saying, "That's on me. I wanted both of you to accompany me to my room."

Before the green-haired teen could ask why, Tooru was quick to say, "He feels bad that he was one of the few of our classmates to not showcase his room on our first night here."

"Indeed. Though it would be most embarrassing for everyone to see it at once," Tokoyami stated as he crossed his arms.

Midoriya then asked, "Are you the first to show us?"

"No. I asked Shoji-kun and Koda-kun to come first. You two seemed like the natural choice after those two," Fumikage answered.

"Now enough chit-chat lets get to the goods," Tooru said eagerly.

The trio then made their way up to the second floor of the boy's side. Tokoyami halted in front of his door and took a deep breath before opening.

Besides some dimly lit candles, the room was almost pitch black; even the windows had been draped closed. To the left was a dresser that had odd knickknacks scattered about. Above that was various gothic art in frames. To the right was his bed, which had a sheathed sword and shield at the foot of the bed. Dark hoodies were hung above the bed, and some odd skull with horns hung further behind his bed. The coolest thing to Izuku, however, was what was at Fumikage's desk. A very fancy chair, which looked fit for royalty, was in front of the desk.

While Hagakure looked at what was on top of Tokoyami's dresser, Midoriya immediately went to inspect the chair up close. Even in the darkness, he could tell it was mostly red with a golden sheen along the sides.

Tooru then spoke up, "So are you embarrassed by showing this cause it shows your interest in this stuff."

"Yes," was all the host could say, in a weak voice. "People tend to think the worst about me when they see stuff like this. At least in my previous schools," he explained.

Izuku then asked, "Where did you get all of this?"

"Mostly from my grandmother. Her quirk is the most similar to mine and knew to have such objects in my possession would spur thoughts of darkness which empowers my quirk. You could say that even in my room I'm reinforcing Dark Shadow," Fumikage answered with a rare, for him, cheerfulness.

Tooru stated, "Your grandma sounds really cool."

"The most cool," Tokoyami said with a smirk.

The two continued examining the room for the next minute. Izuku's next focus was the sword and shield at the foot of the bed. Tooru's was the various keychains that hung above the dresser.

The invisible girl then spoke up and asked, "Hey Tokoyami-kun you got into an internship too right?"

Fumikage gave a single nod before saying, "Yes, though I haven't told anyone about it yet. How do you know?"

"Oh, I asked Aizawa-sensei yesterday if anyone else had obtained an internship in our class. He was surprised you hadn't told anyone," Tooru answered.

The host scratched the back of his head before saying, "Well it's mostly because of who I'm under. I don't want to draw attention to myself."

Izuku then asked, "Is it cause he or she is a popular hero?"

Tokoyami sighed before saying, "Yeah, he's very popular. I'm interning under Hawks."

Midoriya's eyes went wide upon hearing this, and he shuddered as he said, "T-The. The number t-two ranked h-hero in all of J-Japan!?"

'Well, technically he's still ranked 3rd until the next Hero Billboard Chart at the end of the year," Fumikage replied.

"Still that's impressive to attract his attention to want him to work under you. Plus he's a real cutie to boot," Tooru giggled.

The green-haired teen was quick to whine as he said, "T-Tooru, what do you mean?"

Hagakure walked over and playfully poked her boyfriend's cheek as she responded with, "What? I can have a cute boyfriend and still find guys way out of my league dreamy can't I?"

As Izuku fumbled to make sense of his girlfriend's teasing Fumikage said, "I don't see how my mentor being, as you say, 'cute' is meaningful to me but I'll have to infer that as a compliment Hagakure-chan."

Tooru quickly raised an arm as she replied with, "Any time!"

Tokoyami then took a deep breath before saying, "Well it's been, fun, but I would like to retire before the others get back. I have a few more I want to ask to come but this is enough for today."

The guests said their thanks and goodbyes before leaving the room.

After the door shut, the two walked down the hallway to just in front of Izuku's room.

Tooru then asked, "Hey before you go, what happened today? Yaoyorozu-chan mentioned to me she saw you left with some others in our class before most of us even got up."

Ugh, just my luck, Izuku thought. Trying to play it cool he quickly responded with, "Oh just internship stuff."

"Well obviously. You and the others skipped classes for the day," Hagakure replied.

Midoriya held back a groan. He wondered, what now? He had been working so hard to be truthful about everything with his girlfriend as of late, but now he couldn't say a peep about was going on. After a few more moments of thought, Izuku said, "I'm sorry Tooru, but I'm not allowed to say."

"I'm guessing cause you were told not to," Hagakure stated as she crossed her arms.

Izuku then gave a swift nod before saying, "I'm not even allowed to tell Yagi-sensei."

"Sounds serious," Tooru responded. She took a step forward before asking, "Well whatever it is; you stay safe you hear?"

"I promise, and if everything goes well, I can tell you everything in a week or so," Midoriya explained before leaning forward and giving a kiss.

Once the kiss ended the invisible girl said, "Alright, I hope for the best then. Oh and nice aim this time. You're improving."

The two then shared a laugh before hugging and wishing each other a good night.

* * *

 **Well, at least this chapter is two a day late compared to five days like last time. : /**

 **To tell you the truth it's 100% my fault. Had I better managed my time it would be out no problem. But you see I got a PS4 on the 16th as a gift to myself for my birthday which was on the 9th. For the longest time, I've been a PC + Nintendo gamer (like +20 years). But I finally decided it would be nice to broaden my horizons a bit. I got Bloodborne, God of War, and Persona 5. But man Persona 5 has consumed my soul since I started playing it. I got a decent way into it (just completed the 4th palace), so the addiction has subsided a bit and shouldn't affect the next chapter's release.**

 **Oh, and another milestone was reached recently. Over 500 favorites! Wooo!**

 **Anywho on to the chapter itself. Some of you might think it was mostly filler, and I get it, but this was mainly to start new/update some plotlines before we do the jump ahead to the aftermath of the Overhaul raid in Chapter 23. It's a lot to skip over, and I'm hoping I can summarize the entire thing in a few paragraphs. Again, no one wants to have whole chapters dedicated to retelling manga events with only a few changes. And at the moment there's only one change I want to make.**

 **Sato's plotline is sort of a change of pace from my other handling of relationships so far in this fic. In reality, the first girl you date, especially at this age, usually doesn't work out or the relationship doesn't last long. So I thought him becoming just Kendo's friend would be more interesting, plus there's still the joint activity the two are trying to set up. It will occur sometime while I'm covering the School Festival arc. But I still have plans for Sato to hook up with someone, but it will be a minor ship that won't get that much focus. I only have planned five ships in this fic at the moment, as any more would be hard to balance even though two of them will be minor.**

 **It was nice to use Tokoyami again. I needed to eventually have him reveal his room to his classmates for a future plot point, and here it felt right to do so since we haven't seen him since chapter 16. I was tempted to have a Hatsume** **scene but decided it would be best to do what I wanted with her after the Internship arc.**

 **Night Foilage finished editing chapter 11. It is now 10,791 words and had 116 edits. Ooooof.**

 **I got a lot of commissions done since the last chapter. First was some art of my OC renditions of Tooru and Mashirao's parents done by BNHA-bitch. They were done in the same way the character sheets were done in the manga, and they turned out great. I ended up making some changes to them, and I've made several updates to the chapters to reflect this. Tooru's mom had her hair made less curly, and I toned down her attitude while around her husband. Mashirao's dad was given brown hair and a thicker tail, and his mom now has blonde hair. I will, hopefully later this year, do the same character sheets for Momo's parents and her head butler. The second piece is the new cover art for Cubicity that will be updated in July to celebrate this fic turning a year old. It was made by 8bitribbit, and the colors are gorgeous on it. To see all this art again, it's always on my Tumblr.**

 **Speaking of Tumblr, an update on my posts is in order. Post 17 goes over birthdays for June and has some Tooru birthday art posted after it. Post 18 goes over my thoughts on the School Festival Arc and my preview of the Pro Hero Arc. And finally, Post 19 goes in-depth at my decisions regarding Tooru and Mashirao's OC parents.**

 **Before I go, there was something interesting that popped up at the end of chapter 188 of the manga. It involved a short preview of a new spin-off series called My Heroine Academia that will focus mainly on the girls in 1A. The format looks similar to the SMASH! series, which was another MHA spinoff, in the fact it is comedy based. It shows Tooru's parents, being invisible like her. Now, this had me consider some things. Is this canon? SMASH! wasn't as it had things like Uraraka get super strong playing video games, Bakugo escaping the villains by winning the board game Life, and Kirishima getting turned to a pile of dust by Bakugo going overboard with his quirk. If it's a parody/gag spinoff like SMASH! then Tooru's parents being invisible like her was just a gag. But then it also made me consider. What if it was canon anyway? Tooru was created for laughs as Hori said in her character sheet, cause lol always naked when she has to be a heroine. So her parents also being used for a joke isn't that far stretched. Her intended purpose was a joke so it's hard for me to be angry she gets sidelined for laughs. Do I still wish she gets some development? Of course. Just thought I should open what I felt about this.**

 **All I have left to say is Chapter 23 will release on July 23rd, which will be Cubicity's first-year anniversary!**


	23. A Tragic End and Moving On

Chapter 23: A Tragic End and Moving On

"And for sure, you're okay?"

"Yeah," Izuku stated. He paused a bit before saying, "I'm feeling a lot better now that I have told you and mom about it."

A few moments passed before he heard his girlfriend's voice over the phone again say, "Any idea when you'll be back?"

Midoriya had no idea. He had no injuries, but the others did. Recovery Girl was there, but he didn't know if any had been questioned by the police yet as he, Asui, and Uraraka had.

"Hopefully not too long," Izuku stated with a sigh. He then exhaled before saying, "I miss you."

He heard a sniff before Tooru's voice over the phone said, "I do too. Just give me updates when you can, okay?"

"I promise," Midoriya replied with confidence.

The two said their goodbyes and Izuku put the phone down on a nightstand to his side. He then exhaled loudly as he laid out on his makeshift bed.

"You must be exhausted," All Might stated. He was across the room, sitting on a chair by the door. The skeleton of a man then got up and retrieved his pupil's phone and pocketed it. He then said, "Sorry I had to be here to eavesdrop on your calls."

Izuku looked over at his mentor and shook his head as he said, "No it's fine. If you weren't here, I wouldn't have been able to make the phone calls at all. And thanks."

Midoriya wanted to tell his mom and Hagakure right away what happened, but the police had confiscated his phone to keep the information of the raid on lockdown until the media had time to report it. All Might was at the scene at the time and gave the idea he would monitor the boy's calls to make sure he didn't say anything out of line. The officer had no reason to argue with the former number hero of Japan and agreed. Toshinari, however, let his student explain everything to his loved ones, he figured that the news would break soon anyhow and the girls were in no way gossipy on such a serious matter.

Izuku first called his mom, who was hysterical but happy that her boy had received no injuries. Tooru while saddened at the worst of the news, was just glad the operation was a success and her boyfriend and classmates would be back soon.

All Might gave a bow as he said, "No I should be thanking you. Without drawing out the full power of One for All, things might have ended much worse today."

This prompted Midoriya to quickly get up and say, "But sir you don't have to-.

Yagi quickly brought up his head and interrupted by saying, "No buts. It's the truth. Now lay back down and get some rest. You deserve it."

The green haired teen stared at his mentor's eyes for a few moments. They looked serious and stern, but they were still a bit red from the tears he shed earlier. Izuku's eyes were the same. Probably a bit redder he guessed. Regardless Midoriya nodded before laying back down.

"Good. Now get some sleep and hopefully we can get you and your classmates back to school tomorrow," All Might said as he walked towards the door. He then turned off the light before exiting the room.

Izuku pulled the covers over himself and tried to not dwell on the events that had transpired today.

But it was not to be.

Not even an hour into his slumber was Midoriya awoken to some detectives wanting to ask questions. He had already spoken to Detective Tsukauchi earlier and was confused why he was being bothered once more. The officers explained they were from the local precinct and needed their questions answered.

To recall what happened a second time wasn't pleasant for Izuku.

It was Friday, late in September and he and others were recovering from the raid on Overhaul's base of operations.

The mission was a success, but at a significant cost.

Sir Nighteye was dead, killed by succumbing to grievous wounds from Chisaki's quirk.

Mirio was now quirkless, having been shot by a perfected quirk erasing bullet when trying to shield Eri.

But in the end, Eri was safe, and the yakuza organization was subdued and captured.

Izuku recounted everything he could to the detectives. The initial fight with the mooks at the entrance, running into the corridor manipulating quirk user that split up the raid, the run-in with Himiko, his initial battle with Chisaki, and the above ground climax with the head villain. Despite Midoriya being able to use Full Cowl 20% in a fight for the first time, it wasn't enough against Overhaul. The villain had used his quirk to break down and fuse himself with one of his subordinates. While the training with All Might had improved his quirk, he was too predictable.

It wasn't until he observed Eri's quirk not only defuse Chisaki and heal Izuku's legs did he see an opportunity to end this. Well, his legs weren't precisely healed. Midoriya had learned that Eri's quirk, Rewind, simply reverted objects to its previous state from a monologue from the yakuza leader. He then took advantage of this and had Eri ride his back while he activated Full Cowl at full power. The girl's quirk would revert all damage Izuku received, but he had to be sure to be taking damage regularly or otherwise be deleted from existence. And he needed this power as Chisaki again fused with another of his lackeys, and was much more powerful than his previous fusion.

In the end, Midoriya emerged victorious, but the happiness from saving Eri was short lived. Sir Nighteye eventually died to his wounds in the hospital just hours ago, but not before saying some last words to All Might, Mirio, and Izuku. The pro hero had said something that still had Midoriya pondering about it.

Fate.

Izuku was fated to die today, as said by Sir Nighteye's quirk. But he didn't. The dying pro hero explained he always saw Foresight as absolute, that there was no use in trying to overcome what was predicted. Yet his new intern made him realize perhaps one could change fate. If enough people wished strongly enough with no doubt in their minds then maybe fate can be altered. And for Midroiya this seemed to have occurred.

Izuku didn't know what to think of this. Of course, he wanted to set his own path, not to let any determined future to weigh himself down. But it also made the green haired teen think about his destiny to succeeded All Might. Did it have to be so simple? Was his plan to be a part of a hero team perhaps changing this? Could more be done? As much as Izuku wanted to be the next symbol of peace, maybe he could alter some other aspects of what that meant along the way. Way off thoughts for sure, but the subject had given him much thought that day.

The detectives eventually left after they had finished their questions. By now Midoriya was woozy from both mental and physical exhaustion. He got up to turn off his light and made himself comfortable in bed. Izuku hoped he could get home soon, despite not even being a day, he missed Tooru and wanted to be by her side once more. His last thoughts before falling asleep were what he still needed to discuss with his girlfriend.

* * *

Midoriya awoke with a groan. Sleep the last two nights had been troublesome, with nightmares being the primary cause. Being at Sir Nighteye's bedside as he passed away played over and over in his head. Also seeing Eri suffering at the hands of Chisaki was another common dream. Izuku questioned going back to sleep each time. In the end, exhaustion outweighed fear, but it was still rough.

It was Sunday morning, Midoriya and the others had returned late last night. He was glad Kirishima was healed so quickly so they could come back so fast, but there were other issues on his mind.

The Villain Alliance had struck again. The police escort that was transferring Chisaki and his crew were ambushed. The pro hero that was on the scene had disappeared, evidence of the yakuza's crimes was stolen, and Chisaki was heavily injured. Izuku had heard about it the day before on TV at the hospital. What were they up to? And evidence? Did that mean the quirk erasing bullets?

Midoriya had met with Togata before leaving, and while it both saddened and uplifted him to see his senior's positive attitude despite his situation, the green haired teen was angry at himself. He made a rash and stupid offer to Mirio. Izuku shook his head, and thought, he needed to tell Tooru later about it regardless.

Izuku was also concerned about Eri. He offered to stay until she woke up, as she was running a fever and hadn't regained consciousness since Friday morning. Eraserhead instead denied the request and told him to head back to school as his presence wouldn't be needed for now. Midoriya couldn't argue to that point, but it just made him feel that much more hopeless.

Izuku rubbed his eyes for a moment and then got up to brush his teeth. As he did this, he remembered his greeting last night.

Tooru was quick to hug him with a tackle, and despite the awkwardness, he appreciated it. She then went over to do the same to Ochako and Tsuyu. Ida and Uraraka seemed to have a heart to heart afterward, but Midoriya didn't want to pry. Ojiro had a million questions, but Yaoyorozu was quick to remind him now was probably not the best time for that, and he backed off. It made Izuku wonder how things were going between the two as Mashirao had been quiet about his study sessions with her ever since. Rikido then semi-forcefully shoved cake down Midoriya's mouth to the amusement to most.

Midoriya then got dressed and joined his friends for breakfast at the cafeteria since it was Sunday. Here he and Uraraka gave their accounts of what happened. There was one detail that Ochako left out and Izuku felt to do the same. In the end, he would tell Tooru later. After the explanation, the meal proceeded as usual except for one thing, Ochako and Tooru were acting odd. They usually sat next to one another, but today they were seated at opposite ends of the table. Neither spoke a word to one another either. The others seemed to notice this too but didn't speak up. Izuku wondered, did something happen between the two last night?

The group finished their meals and split once they go to the dorms. Hagakure, Ojiro, and Ida prepared for Yaoyorozu's weekly lesson, Uraraka said she was going to take a shower, and Midoriya went to his room to try and get some more rest. After lunch, he and Tooru still planned to have their weekly video chat with their parents. Izuku's mother knew of what happened Friday, but did his girlfriend's parents? It would be an awkward chat regardless, Midoriya figured.

Not long into his nap though did Izuku phone ring. It was a call from Ochako.

Midoriya was first to speak by saying, "Um, hello?"

Uraraka replied, "Hey Deku-kun! You're not busy are you?"

"No, was just napping. Had trouble sleeping last night," the green haired teen answered.

"You too huh? It's been hard for me too since Friday," Ochako sighed. Izuku heard her exhale then say, "Anyways there's something important I think you should know."

Midoriya asked, "Does it involve Tooru? You two were acting weird this morning."

"It was kind of obvious, wasn't it? But yeah, Hagakure-chan tried to go to your room last night and I stopped her," Uraraka responded with hesitant tone.

Izuku slowly said, "S-She w-what? Was she that worried about me?"

Ochako replied, "I didn't even get to my room before she came and asked me. She was pretty desperate, but I eventually convinced her it wasn't a good idea."

Midoriya then asked, "What did you say to change her mind?"

"Well, I thought you still needed time to collect your thoughts. I mean, I still need some time and what I went through doesn't compare to you Deku-kun. Plus what she wanted to do was a lot riskier than her last visit," Uraraka explained.

The green haired teen was scared to ask, but eventually did by saying, "W-What do you mean r-riskier?"

Ochako cleared her throat as she answered, "Hagakure-chan wanted to stay the night in your room."

Izuku could already feel a headache coming on. He took a couple of breaths before saying, "Thanks for considering my feelings about this Uraraka-chan. I don't think I would be up to this even considering everything that has happened."

"I figured as much. I just thought you should know," Uraraka stated with confidence.

Midoriya then thought for a moment before asking, "But why were you two acting up this morning then if everything worked out?"

"Oh, that? When I got up this morning, I visited Hagakure-chan and suggested she tell you what she tried to do last night. She's got her reasons why but I told her it's for the best. And well, she was against it, and no arguing could convince her so otherwise. So we were still a bit angry at each other this morning," Ochako explained. She then changed her tone to a more chipper one as she said, "But after breakfast, Hagakure-chan pulled me aside and apologized. She then asked me to tell you to make it less awkward."

Izuku thought, less awkward? Since when did that stop Tooru before? And what reasons did she have to not tell him about trying to get into his room again? Midoriya figured he'd have answers soon and said, "I'm glad you two made up so quickly." He paused a moment before saying, "I guess I'll try and talk to Tooru about this after Yaoyorozu-chan's lesson is over."

Ochako was quick to respond with, "Oh don't worry about that. Hagakure-chan already plans to call you after the lesson. Me telling you this makes things easier for her."

The green haired teen was tempted to ask Uraraka what was causing his girlfriend to act like this, but he would soon hear from Hagakure anyways so he stated, "I see."

An awkward silence followed. The green haired teen then had a thought pop into his head and asked, "Um, I know this is a bit off topic and your free not to answer but how did Ida-kun's visit to your home go?"

"Right, that," Ochako replied sounding flustered. "It was quite embarrassing for me. My dad kept cracking terrible jokes, and my mom kept asking humiliating questions about our relationship. I mean I know she meant well, but we haven't dated that long and it's just ugh," she explained with a groan.

"So parents being parents," Izuku said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but they should still behave themselves. My mom's questions were unsettling Tenya quite a bit, and the dad jokes were more jarring than usual," Uraraka stated with a sigh.

Midoriya then asked, "I mean what exactly did she say?"

"Things like, have you two kissed? How many dates have you been on? Have you visited her room in the dorms? I wonder what kind of quirks your k-kids will have," Ochako answered in an awkward voice.

While Izuku realized Ochako's mother was probably just teasing the couple the last question was a bit drastic. Neither his parents or Tooru's had been that straightforward in their questions. Midoriya then said, "Well, either way, it sounds like everything went well."

"I guess, but our next house visit is going to be at Tenya's place. It's a lot more relaxing there despite all the hustle and bustle when in the company of his brothers," Uraraka said in a comforting tone.

Izuku was curious about the rest of his class president's family outside Tensei but didn't wanna hold Ochako any longer and said, "Sounds like fun. Anyways, Tooru will probably be calling me soon, so it's best I mentally prepare myself."

Ochako confidently replied, "I'm sure everything will work out. You two have been through worse."

"Right. I'll see ya later Uraraka-chan," Midoriya replied.

"Bye Deku-kun," Uraraka stated before hanging up.

* * *

Izuku kept thinking, what's taking her so long?

Noon was almost here, and it had been quite some time since Midoriya had finished his conversation with Uraraka, but there had been no call from Hagakure.

Izuku pondered, was he supposed to call? No, Ochako told him otherwise. So what was keeping his girlfriend? Midoriya went downstairs to make sure the study session was over, and it was. So she had to be in her room. Was Tooru that bothered about what she tried to do last night? Was sleeping in bed with him her limit? Or was it something else?

To keep himself occupied the green haired teen decided to catch up what he missed the two days he was away from school. Tenya had given him notes last night before going to bed. But eventually, it wasn't enough to keep Izuku's mind off the phone call.

So right now Midoriya was checking the weekly hero blog once more. News of the raid and the failed police escort dominated the news feed, but one incident caught his attention. It was the electricity-wielding villain once again. Again he was spotted mid-day fighting another villain. This time he was only seen escaping the scene with the other culprit beaten into submission. Just what was his game? Izuku still held on to the belief that it was merely a turf war despite what the blogger and the rest of the media were thinking. They believed the man was trying to make a name for himself by defeating other villains. That would explain why he would be doing this in broad daylight but not why he kept targeting villains Midoriya knew were small time. If the that was the goal, why not go after bigger prey?

Before he could ponder this the mysterious villain further Izuku's phone began to ring, and in a mad dash he grabbed it to say, "Finally."

"Uh, yeah. Sorry for taking so long to have the guts to call you. Today's been a trip for me," Tooru replied awkwardly.

This wasn't like her at all, Midroiya thought. He then said, "It's fine Tooru, I can relate to doing things that are hard to talk about. So I understand how you feel."

"Thanks, Izuku," Hagakure responded. She paused a moment before continuing with, "What I tried to do last night. Was dumb. And stupid. And inconsiderate. And selfish. And-."

Before the flustered girl could rabble on, her boyfriend interrupted and stated, "Tooru slow down. Take a breath." The last line, however, did peak the boy's interest. What was selfish about coming to his room?

"Right, sorry," Tooru answered in a sorrowful tone. Izuku heard her take some breaths before saying, "I was so focused on comforting you that I overlooked all reason and even ended up getting in an argument with Uraraka-chan."

"I mean yeah it was pretty rash and all but you wanted to do it to help me, and while that makes me happy we can't be risking you getting yourself in trouble," Izuku explained. He then cleared his throat before saying, "And to be honest I don't know if I would have let you s-sleep over. It probably would have been a bit too much for me."

"I know. But there's more to this whole situation than you think," Hagakure stated with a sigh.

This must be what Uraraka was talking about earlier. Plus the selfish reason his girlfriend mentioned. Midoriya steeled himself and said in a caring tone, "Well go ahead, I'm listening."

Tooru slowly asked, "Izuku have you noticed anything different between us since we came to these dorms?"

Izuku wasn't prepared to be asked a question. He gave it some thought before asking, "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Just focus on my behavior. Before we dated and after, but still before we came here. I'm willing to wait if you need the time," Hagakure replied.

"Okay then. Give me a minute," Midoriya responded in a confused voice. He needed to guess this right he figured. Izuku started to pour over anything different he had noticed about his girlfriend since coming here. Minutes passed as he compared the past to now, but eventually, a thought occurred to him. Despite living under the same roof, they hang out less. Sure Midoriya was busier than before, but considering they were so close in the vicinity of another, it still should be more often. This was even considering the intimacy ban from last month. Hagakure was also so putting herself into the boy's business before, and now that was not the case.

Izuku exhaled before asking, "Is it, we've become a bit distant to one another?"

"Yes, it's exactly that. And mostly on my end," Tooru answered with a sigh.

The green haired teen was quick to ask, "But why?"

"A mix of things I guess. First, there was the whole not telling me about rescuing Bakugo-san. Even after we made up though I reeled back not wanting to push you too hard. I mean our school is harder this term, and I didn't want you to have to juggle me and school work too much," Hagakure explained. She sighed again before stating, "But then it became more and more difficult to keep my distance. I saw Ida-kun and Uraraka-chan being more intimate in the open, and I wanted the same thing between us, but I knew that it was too soon to try and push that on to you."

Midroiya rubbed his temple as all this started to sink in. He wasn't satisfying his girlfriend. She wanted to be more intimate, but she also wanted to consider her boyfriend's feelings about advancing things too fast. And it was tearing the girl apart. Izuku then said, "So when you said it was selfish that you considered coming to my room, was it because you felt that it was not entirely to comfort me but to also comfort you. So it didn't feel like the selfless thing to do?"

"Pretty much. I need to be there for you at times like this, and my dumb needs shouldn't even be a factor here. So I'm a bit disgusted with myself about this whole situation," Tooru groaned.

Midoriya was quick to respond with, "Tooru I'm so sorry I didn't notice you felt this way until now. I should have realized this sooner."

"There's no need to apologize Izuku I-," Hagakure tried to say.

The green haired teen raised his voice as he stated, "But now I feel inadequate as your boyfriend!"

Silence followed as the two tried to think of what to say next. Eventually, it was Izuku that spoke up first as he said, "Sorry about yelling but, what I said is the truth. If you feel like we should hang out more or be more intimate, tell me. I might not always be ready for it, but at least if we communicate, I think we can find a middle ground that is better than bottling things up just for my sake."

Tooru took a moment to respond with, "Heh, I guess I should be following your recent examples of being more open with me to heart huh? I've been pretty locked up with my thoughts and feelings around you as late."

Again more silence between the two.

Midoriya looked over at his alarm clock. It was noon. Soon his friends and classmates would be going to have lunch in the cafeteria. But he had something else in mind. Izuku then asked with confidence, "Why don't we try and remedy this right away? You wanna go on a date today?"

Hagakure said nothing for a few seconds before laughing. Once calming down, she said, "That sounds swell Izuku I'll do this if only under three conditions."

The green haired teen replied, "Sure. What are they?"

"First, no talk of Friday on today's outing. I want you to have a good time, and any discussion of that will bring you down," the invisible girl stated.

"I'm okay with that," Izuku answered quickly. There were more two things he still wanted to tell her about Friday, but he was willing to wait for this.

"Next, I plan what we do today," Tooru said with more confidence.

Midoriya scratched the back of his head as he replied, "To tell you the truth, I had no plan of what to even do so that sounds great!"

Hagakure chuckled before saying, "And finally I want us to date more often. How about at the very least once per month?"

"I can manage that I think," the green haired teen answered. September was almost over so that meant they could have another date soon if they wanted with October just around the corner.

"This is going to be wonderful! Let me take a shower real quick before we head out. I'll text you when I'm ready," Tooru said with glee in her voice.

* * *

Midoriya and Hagakure were sitting side by side at a sandwich deli. They were in a small town close to the invisible girl's home. Tooru said that this is where she would go for fun when she was in middle school. Izuku was wearing a black t-shirt with blue jeans, and his girlfriend wore an orange sweater in a red skirt as well as stockings.

Izuku observed one of Tooru's orange snap bracelets point towards him as she said, "Your eating too fast Izuku, we have plenty of time until the movie, so there's no rush."

Midoriya swallowed his current bite of food before saying, "Sorry, I'm just famished since this is such a late lunch."

"Alright then. Just learn to chew a bit," Hagakure stated before chuckling.

As the two ate, a man was talking to a woman at the booth to their side. He had walked in and was trying to get her attention as she ate her food. The man was currently flexing to get her attention, but she wasn't interested at all and was quite irritated. One of the waiters then walked up and asked him to leave, which he did begrudgingly.

"Heh, sometimes being a hunk isn't everything," Tooru said with snark.

Izuku then asked, "Is that normally how guys try and flirt with girls?" Come to think of it; he never did flirt with his girlfriend before they became a couple. It also made the teen think when did her teasing was flirting or not back then.

"It's common yeah, but masculinity is overrated," the invisible girl stated as she went to grab her boyfriend's free hand.

"I don't follow Tooru," Midoriya replied in a confused tone.

Hagakure took a moment to finish her drink before answering, "I mean it's not a bad thing. It's pretty cool to see Kirishima-kun always try and act manly all the time. But not something I find attractive."

Izuku remembered back to Tooru's reaction to seeing Eijiro's room during their night at the dorms.

 _I'd rank it maybe at number two of my all-time not-boyfriend-material rooms._

Midoriya recalled Uraraka having the opposite reaction. He wondered how that dynamic worked with Ida and her.

Tooru spoke up once more and said, "I mean I have no issue with you being as fit as you are Izuku because you don't flaunt your strength like say, Ojiro-kun."

"Right, like during the sleepover," Izuku stated. Mashirao did post that picture of showing off his goods to a mixed response from the girls. Tho now that he remembered, Momo didn't want to comment about it. What did she honestly think?

"Exactly," the invisible girl responded. She then slowly said, "I guess you could say another reason I enjoyed your company and even started to like you is cause you're a bit feminine Izuku."

Midoriya blushed as he asked, "I'm feminine to you?"

"Of course! Your reactions to everything scream girlish to me, and you have the face to boot too. Though who knows how long that will last," Hagakure explained with a sigh.

The green haired teen grabbed his face with his hands as he asked, "What about my face?"

"You just keep proving my point the more you talk Izuku," Tooru said as she leaned over and kissed her boyfriend's cheek. As he remained flustered, she asked, "So how about you? What do you like in a girl?"

Izuku took a moment to collect himself before answering with, "I mean, it's not about girls in general, but I greatly appreciated that you were willing to put up with my social awkwardness. It's one reason why I said we were best friends after our first date."

"It's been interesting alright. Kept me on my toes but it was worth it," Hagakure said with sincerity.

Midoriya's heart fluttered upon hearing this and leaned in to give his invisible girl a kiss on the lips. It was quick, but he felt it was needed.

Tooru chuckled after the moment and then asked, "Did you forget we're in public?"

Izuku did. He looked up to see a few stares from customers and waiters alike.

As Midoriya turned beet red, his girlfriend got up and pulled him out of the establishment with a laugh. They had already paid, and she could tell it was time to make an exit.

* * *

It just had to a horror movie, Izuku thought.

The film was basically a zombie flick. A baby was born with a quirk that turned anyone it bit into a brain-hungry mindless husk. The movie focused on the futile attempt of heroes to stop the spread, and it ended on a sad note that they failed. The gore was over the top and never in Izuku's life had he gripped someone's hand so hard.

It was evening, and the couple had just finished their dinner at a ramen place. After the movie, the window shopped for a while before grabbing something to eat. Midoriya was getting short on cash and Hagakure suggested it since it was cheap. He made a mental note that he needed to figure out how to get more money for more dates in the future.

Tooru was unfazed by it all and had a great time. She loved poking fun at her boyfriend for being such a scaredy cat.

"You'll jump head first towards a giant robot or serial killer, but a cheesy horror flick is your limit," Hagakure said in a teasing voice.

"I mean those were scary too," Midoriya whined in response.

The two continued to chat as they walked hand and hand back to school, but Izuku had thoughts on his mind. Ever since Tooru stated she wanted to be closer to him, he pondered how he could fulfill that. And Midoriya's kiss with his girlfriend at lunch gave him an idea. A crazy one, but something. The movie distracted him a bit, but dinner made him rethink it. And now the opportunity was a hand.

Just minutes away from U.A., Izuku stopped walking and asked, "I want to attempt something Tooru."

Tooru was quick to respond with, "Alright, I'm all ears."

The green haired teen turned and walked down an empty alley. Another alley showed up to his right, and he took it. It was a dead end, perfect, Izuku thought. He then placed his hands on Hagakure's shoulders and said, "Tooru, you've always been the one to push our relationship forward: asking me out on a date, hugging, confessing, kissing. I mean I've caught up, but I'm always behind you when it comes to stuff like that. So I want to be the first to try something. It's only fair even if it's unsettling for me at the moment."

"Explains the change in scenery," Tooru stated. She then exhaled before saying, "I think I have an idea what you have in mind. So let's try it."

Izuku gulped before saying, "S-Sorry if I'm not g-good at this."

"Izuku it's going to be a new experience for both of us. If we make mistakes then we'll just work on it next time," Hagakure comfortingly replied.

"Right, so uh here I go," a nervous Midoriya stated. However, within moments of leaning forward, he felt a finger touch his lips.

"You know I just realized, our mouths probably still have the taste of ramen in them. So let's fix that," the invisible teen said as she pulled out her purse. She offered her boyfriend a piece of candy, and he happily took it.

The next minute was quite awkward though. In silence, the two swished the mint flavored candy in their mouths to rid of the flavor of dinner still left in them. Izuku mentally was awash with what was about to happen, but he knew he needed to get a hold of himself if he was to fix this. Feeling inadequate to Tooru's needs was a massive blow to him, and he wanted to fix this above all else.

Midoriya then heard Hagakure spit out her mint and say, "That should be enough. I'm ready now."

Izuku rubbed his temple and took a few breaths before resuming his position. This time there was no interruption as their lips met and slowly he used his tongue to enter Tooru's mouth. When she did the same, he almost winced back in shook but held firm. At first, there was little movement between the two. The mint flavoring overpowered most of what Midoriya was tasting, but it was much better than ramen would have been. But slowly they started to explore each other's tongues and mouth. However, it didn't last long as both pulled away fighting for air.

They both forgot to breathe during the whole ordeal.

"Damn it; we have noses why didn't we just breathe through those," Tooru said with a cough.

"I just didn't think about it. I was too focused on our m-mouths and, ugh," Izuku groaned.

Hagakure then broke out into a laugh and Midoriya joined her. After a minute, the two had finally caught their breath.

Tooru then said, "Man we both sucked at that."

It took a moment, but Izuku asked, "Do you wanna have another go?"

"Nah, I'm satisfied. I just wanted to cheer you up today so even though this didn't work out our date is still way above my expectations," Hagakure replied full of cheer. She then took a step forward and grabbed her boyfriend's arm as she said, "Besides, we've been in this alley for far too long. We'll pick this up another day."

Midoriya nodded as he responded with, "We'll improve together, even if it takes all my wits to do it."

Tooru chuckled as the two began walking. She then proclaimed, "That's the spirit!"

* * *

 **Well, it's here. Cubicity's 1st anniversary. What a journey.**

 **I never imagined I would get this far. I mean I just passed 100,000 views, have over 700 followers, and 550 favorites.**

 **It doesn't matter if you stuck with me since the early days or are one of those that just found the story, I thank you dearly.**

 **Your views, follows, favorites, and feedback has been an immense help in motivating me to want to continue this and to improve myself.**

 **I'm sure you've already noticed, but I updated the cover art to celebrate. I commissioned 8bitrabbit on Tumblr to make this, and it's terrific. I mean look at those colors! If you want to see a higher quality image of it** **and see the sketch as well, look up me or 8bitrabbit on Tumblr. I plan to have her make me another IzuTooru pic during the winter holidays. And at least for the next year, expect this to be the cover art for Cubicity. Maybe I'll update it again during the 2nd anniversary. ;p**

 **Not much on Tumblr, this go** **around as I was busy with summer work. Post 20 goes over some of the side romance in Cubicity, and that's about it. I also got 50 followers on Tumblr. So that's something I guess, /shrug. It's mostly just extra stuff and commissions anyways, so I don't expect it to get big. ;p**

 **Night Foilage finished edited chapter 12, and it is now 15,882 words and received 148 edits. Chapter 13 is going to be a doozy to edit…**

 **Speaking of edits, a special thanks to Cleric of Nayru for spot editing this before release.**

 **But enough of all that, let's get to the chapter.**

 **A bit shorter than my usual work but I wanted to end on a high note. Yesterday I had a change of heart about the last scene. I initially had the couple just talk some more but an early consideration to have them try french kissing kept nagging at me until I considered a scenario and just went with it. It kept me up late, but I think it was worth it. :3**

 **As I said last time, almost the entire Internship arc skipped. There was little point for me to cover it extensively when the only change that will be included next chapter. I wanted to focus on the aftermath and have some IzuTooru focus once that was over and it was nice to do a date again. With everything that had been happening canon wise, there wasn't much room to fit one earlier. Going forward, dates will be becoming more common.**

 **Another Ochako scene, so woot. I feel I need to use her more outside subjects involving Tooru though. Hoping the team training will allow me to do this.**

 **Chapter 24 will see the start of the team concept training with its first session, which will be more a set up of the rules and such but at least it's starting. We'll also see the beginning of the School Festival Arc. As with the month time skip between the Hero Killer Arc and Final Exam arc, expect many chapters to be dedicated to covering this gap. Chapters 7-14 were probably my favorite bunch to write because of the free rein I had. It's been a very long time of being constrained by the plot so the breath of fresh air will be nice (and luckily another time skip happens after that too!).**

 **Welp here's to another year of Cubicity. See you on September 1st!**


	24. Looming Training

Chapter 24: Training Looms

Rikido took a sip of tea before asking, "You okay over there Midoriya-kun?"

"Yeah. I'm just still adjusting being back at school after, everything that happened," Izuku responded as he laid down on his back on a couch opposite of his friend.

It was Monday night, and Midroiya was exhausted. He thought going back to classes would be no big deal after the raid, but school felt different. Perhaps he needed more time to process everything, Izuku thought. But his date last night with Tooru had helped somewhat. Tho there still was the matter of things to discuss. Midoriya figured it would be best to tell his girlfriend the details tomorrow, as he wanted to go to Sir Nighteye's funeral on Wednesday after school. But should he tell her to meet him after school tonight? Or maybe over breakfast or lunch? Or pull her aside after school?

"Well if you need anything from me just ask. I'd be happy to help," Sato stated with confidence.

Midoriya answered, "Thanks but I think I just need time if anything." He then sighed and stretched his arms a bit.

As Sato drank the rest of his tea Izuku looked around the common room as he wondered what topics the two could talk about. Mineta, Kaminari, and Sero watching some TV show that Midoriya didn't recognize. Tooru and Uraraka were happily eating some mochi that Sato had made earlier. Finally, Ojiro was currently rummaging through one of the refrigerators.

Eventually, something sparked in Izuku's mind, and he asked, "Hey how's that activity we're supposed to do with 1B going along."

Rikido cupped his chin with one hand and gave a mischievous grin as he replied, "Oh quite well I would say. I should be able to reveal our plans sometime next week. We're only awaiting permission from the faculty to do this. They have a board meeting later this week, and hopefully, our request get's looked at."

Izuku got up into a sitting position as he asked, "What if it gets rejected?"

Sato chuckled as he answered, "Oh I'm sure it will be accepted. The class presidents and vice presidents from both classes already approved of it."

Midoriya wondered if the Ida and Yaoyorozu approved of this while he was away. Or had they just been tight-lipped about it?

Before Izuku could respond, however, Mashirao showed up with a glass of milk in hand and said, "Evening you two." He then quickly turned to Rikido and asked, "Mind if I talk with Midoriya-kun in private Sato-kun?"

Sato seemed a bit surprised at this and replied, "Oh um, sure. I need to clean up from making that mochi earlier anyhow." He then got up and left, and Ojiro sat in the same spot.

Midoriya then asked, "What's going on?"

"Sorry. I guess we could discuss this over the phone later, but I couldn't wait any longer," Ojiro answered sounding a bit exhausted. He then looked over to Sato before saying, "I'll apologize to Sato-kun later about me being rude."

Izuku then realized what he meant. Before this, he had been talking with Tooru, Tenya, and Ochako for some time. Then Sato appeared and asked if anyone wanted some treats and Uraraka immediately requested mochi, which he happily made. Midoriya and Ida weren't hungry, however. The former decided to lay down. The latter was ready for bed and hug his girlfriend goodnight before going upstairs. After giving the girls the desserts, Rikido made his tea and began to chat with Izuku.

During this whole time, Ojiro was in the common room keeping his distance. Mostly to himself just looking at his phone and occasionally giving Izuku glances.

Midoriya internally sighed and thought, Ojiro was waiting to talk to me in private. He then looked up to his friend before saying, "It's okay I kept you waiting for a chance to talk with me in private." He then paused before asking, "Does this have to do with Yaoyorozu-chan?"

"Heh, you know me too well at this point," Mashirao responded with a smirk on his face.

Well, it's about all we've talked about in private; lately, Izuku wanted to say but held his tongue.

Ojiro then said, "If you remember, her birthday was earlier this week."

Midoriya nodded, "Yeah I do. She said she didn't wanna make it a big deal." He remembered Hagakure bringing it up on Wednesday during lunch, the 23rd. Momo stated she was going to visit her parents on Sunday to celebrate, so there was no need for a party. Everyone at the table decided to drop the subject after that.

Izuku then asked, "What about it?"

"Well after her study lesson here on Sunday I figured Yaoyorozu-chan would head out to her place, but she pulled me aside to talk to me alone," Mashirao answered in a quiet voice as he leaned in closer to his friend. He paused a moment before saying, "And then she asked me if I'd be interested in going to some nearby kaiten-sushi restaurant next Sunday with her."

Midoriya's eyes widened at his, but he was at a loss for words. He thought Ojiro was going to say that he asked Yaoyorozu about her feelings. Not this. Izuku then focused on her asking to go to such a restaurant. It was the same place Sato and Kendo had gone earlier this month. He remembered Momo was interested in going to such a place.

During Izuku's silence, Mashirao drank his milk slowly. When finished he said, "I said yes but didn't bring up the whole what she feels about me thing since I figured she was in a hurry to celebrate her birthday."

"Well, it sounds great Ojiro-kun! I bet this has lifted a lot of stress off your shoulders," Midoriya responded with a raised voice.

Mashirao was quick to say, "Keep it down will you."

"Oh sorry. I'm just happy things have worked out," Izuku stated as he grinned happily.

"Well we don't know for sure yet," Ojiro answered with a huff. He then stated, "This could just be us hanging out. Not a date."

Now Midoriya was the one to huff as he said, "Now you sound like the old me Ojiro-kun. This looks like a date to me."

The tailed teen blushed slightly and looked away but remained silent.

Izuku's toned turned serious as he asked, "You still having self-doubts about being worthy for her or not?"

Mashirao grunted as he replied, "Of course."

"Well then just ask Yaoyorozu-chan during the date," Midoriya stated.

"Right," Ojiro answered with a sigh. He then leaned back into the couch before saying, "Now I just got to get thru this week of school waiting for this to get resolved, so that's gonna be a drag."

Midoriya crossed his arms as he said, "I bet it will fly by if you think positive thoughts. You're letting the unknown weigh you down Ojiro-kun."

"It won't be easy, but I'll try. Thanks, Midoriya-kun," Mashirao replied with a soft grin.

* * *

"You just sit right here and take a look at this reference material for today," Hatsume stated as she dragged Midoriya to a chair and table opposite of her current workbench.

It was Tuesday again, and Izuku was surprised to hear Mei reject him helping today. She instead had him looking five thick black notebooks with big letters in silver at the front. They seemed to be alphabetized as their titles merely had, A-D, E-H, I-N, O-T, and U-Z as titles. Nothing else indicated what was contained in them.

"Hatsume-san I still don't understand why I am doing this," Midoriya said in a confused voice.

Mei held up her index finger as she said, "First. I told you to address me as Hatsume-chan just a moment ago. So get to it." She then held up two fingers and continued by saying, "And second, no need to question my methods. Just immerse yourself in the knowledge I have bestowed upon you. You won't regret it!"

Izuku didn't know how to respond to this.

Mei then turned around and began to work on some contraption by beating it with a hammer.

After sighing, Midoriya figured he might as well do as she pleases and grabbed the U-Z notebook and opened it to a random page. He was shocked to see the picture of a pro hero staring back at him. And not just any pro, it was one of the best in Japan. The Equipped Hero: Yoroi Musha. This bearded old man wore samurai armor as his costume with a large cape. On the page described ways to temper the metals of his hero suit and suggested future improvements.

Izuku thought, what is this? He then flipped to another random page and saw class 1B's homeroom teacher, the Blood Hero: Vlad King. Here it detailed some suggested methods of cleaning his gear that interacted with his blood to keep things as sanitary as possible. Also, it listed a procedure of what to do if any of it was damaged as to not succumb to falling unconscious or even death from blood loss.

Mei then spoke up to say, "So what do you think Midoriya-kun? It's cool yeah?"

"It is," Izuku said. He paused before stating, "Amazing even. But who wrote this? And why?"

Suddenly the sliding door to the room wheeled itself open, and Power Loader stepped inside carrying what seemed to be two carryout meals. He then said, "Ah afternoon Midoriya-san. What's that you are read-." The pro hero then stopped speaking. He then put down the food and walked over to his assistant before saying very slowly, "Hatsume. What are you doing?"

"Just letting Midoriya-kun look at your notes as a treat. Nothing to worry about Maijima-sensei," Mei responded as if it was not a big deal.

Maijima clenched a fist as he responded, "And doing so breaks the confidentiality agreement between heroes and their mechanic. This isn't like you Hatsume-san what gives?"

"Oh quit being such a stick in the mud. It's just some payment for Midoriya-kun helping me out these last couple of weeks," Hatsume stated while waving her hand like if she was shooing away a fly.

Midoriya expected Power Loader to grab the notebooks away as he reached out a hand to grab one. The pro hero stopped however and then let his arm fall to the side. He then looked over to his assistant and stated, "Fine. But that means you gotta clean up your mess from this morning before you continue working on your current project."

Mei groaned before answering, "Ugh, fine." She then got up and went to a pile of smoking trash at a far away workbench.

Maijima then pulled up a chair and sat down next to his guest. He then proceeded to take off his large helmet and placed it on the table with a loud thud.

Izuku wondered just how heavy that equipment was.

"Sorry about that. Usually, such information is limited to those that work with these pro heroes. You don't want such details falling into the wrong hands and all," Power Loader said as he grabbed the A-D notebook and placed it in front of him. He then asked, "I'm guessing she just gave this to you to read without you asking?"

"No, sir. She refused my help today and gave me these to read," Midoriya answered.

"Guess this is just her way of trying to cheer you up," Maijima stated as he opened his notebook to the index page.

Izuku then asked, "Cheer me up?"

"Well of course. Your little episode with yakuza a few days ago must have been rough. Hatsume-san probably wanted to do something for you but since she is what she is, instead of doing something normal she shoves confidential information as a gift," the pro hero explained after a long sigh. He then said in an irritated tone, "Would have been better if she asked me about it though."

Midoriya was delighted that Hatsume was trying to cheer him up as odd as it was. Or was it? This kind of information was something he would love to have regular access to. So much at his fingertips. Izuku felt he could get lost in it all. So maybe it was perfect after all. He then collected himself and asked, "So are these all heroes you've worked with?"

"Some more than others, but yes. I started making it once I went pro, though I wished I made it sooner cause I got to help work on some neat stuff while I was still in school. But I didn't realize how helpful it could be until I started to accumulate information from my work," Power Loader responded. He then brought a hand up and gently patted Midoriya's back as he said, "As long as you keep the knowledge from these notebooks to yourself it's okay to read this Midoriya-san."

Izuku grinned as he replied, "Thanks, sir!"

Maijima then got up and said, "No problem. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm starving." He then walked over and opened his takeout, which was tonkotsu ramen (pork bone based).

Hatsume noticed this and was quick to come over and her takeout of shoyu ramen (soy sauce based).

As the two ate Izuku poured over all the information he could before eventually, his phone alarm went off. It was dinner time.

* * *

"Alright. What's up? Asking me to come here again on such short notice," Tooru stated.

Izuku and his girlfriend were once more under the Japanese maple tree. Dinner was over, and as the group got up to put away their trays, he asked the girl to meet him here to discuss what he needed to. And Hagakure was right; usually, Midoriya would give more of a heads up if they were going to talk.

"Sorry, I should have brought this up sooner. You're right," Izuku answered with a sigh.

Hagakure then asked, "So what's the damage?"

Izuku was quick to respond with, "Wait. What? How do you know I was going to say bad news? Did I hint-." He stopped talking as he felt Tooru place her hand over his mouth.

The invisible girl then stated, "Izuku you're easy to read sometimes." She then removed her hand and said, "Now calm down and tell me the details. I'm ready for whatever it is."

Midoriya took a deep breath before he asked, "Do you remember Camie from the license exam?"

"The goopy and nudey girl? Yeah hard to forget," Hagakure huffed in response.

"Well, it turned out that she wasn't who we thought she was," Izuku stated. He paused before continuing with, "It was Toga Himiko. The villain, you and Uraraka-chan, ran into during our summer trip."

Midoriya then explained how he figured all this out. Toga appeared during the yakuza raid disguised as another pro hero surprised both him and Aizawa. When she dropped her disguise thanks to Shota's Erasure quirk, Izuku immediately recognized the gooey appearance she had and was able to connect the dots. He also mentioned Ochako had seen Toga disguised as Izuku at a later point that day. She couldn't place that the Izuku she met was an imposter until the real Izuku filled her in about everything that had happened once they were both taken to the hospital.

Once Midoriya he was done explaining, Hagakure asked, "So is this Camie girl alright?"

"I don' know. I just told Aizawa-sensei and the police what I was able to deduce. I hope she is okay, but things don't look good for her," Izuku said

There was silence between the two before Midoriya spoke up and said, "The reason I bring this up is that I believe this villain has become obsessed with me. Both times I met her she sort of went into a frenzy cause I was there. She even called me Deku baby this last time."

Tooru was quiet for a moment before she said, "That makes sense though. During me and Uraraka-chan's run-in with that bastard, she said things about wanting to become like the ones you love. It explains why she went after you during our license exam to learn more about you and even disguised as you during the raid."

Izuku felt his girlfriend grab his hand as she asked, "You're worried she might come after me?"

"Yeah. While the villain was disguised as Camie, she mentioned Uraraka not being the one she was looking for. I think somehow she knows I had a girlfriend and she was looking for you," Midoriya answered with worry in his tone.

"Yeah, she had some weird sense of telling that Uraraka-chan and I were in love, so that doesn't surprise me," Hagakure stated. She exhaled before saying, "You think she'll try and disguise as you to get to me?"

Izuku nodded as he replied, "Or vice versa, but it's a possibility. I don't think she will be able to infiltrate U.A., but it might be good that we set up something so when we are alone outside of school we can easily identify if we are real or an imposter. I haven't thought of anything good myself though. Do you have any ideas?

Almost immediately Tooru answered, "Oh I have a perfect solution! Our failed handshake!"

It took a moment for Midoriya to understand but then it hit him, and he asked, "Wasn't that more of a failed fist bump?" He remembered their exchange the first day they officially met all the way back in April.

"See? We'll ask to handshake at our initial greeting. If you're the imposter you'll try and shake my hand, but if you're you then it will be a fist bump," Hagakure explained.

"Oh so then on the flip side if I don't get a fist bump from you then it's not the real you," Izuku said with an intrigued voice.

Tooru giggled as she replied, "Exactly!" She then asked, "Do we know that villain can even copy my invisible look though? Or how she goes about doing it?"

"I don't know if she could disguise as you Tooru, but I think her quirk has to do with blood. Aizawa-sensei thinks so too. Himiko seems obsessed with it, and she collected blood from Uraraka-san with that contraption of hers. She must have also got some blood from me during the exam, as I did get a cut on my cheek during our battle," Midoriya explained.

"That sounds about right but we better just assume he might be able to disguise as either of us just to be safe," Hagakure stated. She then leaned over and placed her head on her boyfriend's shoulders as she said, "See this wasn't so bad. I'm glad we went over this."

Izuku, however, groaned upon hearing this.

Tooru then asked, "Wait do you have more you need to tell me?"

After a nod, Midoriya answered, "Just one more thing." He exhaled before continuing with, "When I visited with Togata-senpai in the hospital, after Sir Nighteye's death, I almost attempted something idiotic."

Hagakure was quick to ask, "You thought about giving him One for All?"

All Izuku could do was keep his mouth agape upon hearing this.

"Your self-less to a T Izuku. Both a blessing and in this case a curse," Tooru huffed. She then asked, "Did you ask or did Togata-senpai refuse your offer instead?"

"The latter," Midoriya replied while hanging his head.

Hagakure sighed before saying, "Alright let's hear your reasoning."

Izuku then asked, "Wait, you're not mad?"

"Oh, I am. You don't have to worry about that. I wanna hear what you gotta say before I say anything myself," Tooru said as she pulled her head away from her boyfriend's shoulder.

Midoriya then explained Togota's candidacy to be the next user of One for All by Sir Nighteye. He also told Hagakure of All Might keeping that a secret and the exchange they had once he was approved of his internship. It ended with Izuku explaining that Mirio didn't want anyone else to feel what he was feeling at the moment and the hope that maybe one day Eri might be able to reverse him to a state to when he had his quirk again.

"That sounds better than what I was expecting, but still you gotta consider everything All Might-sensei has done for you. He chose you, not Togota-senpai. You shouldn't take that so lightly," Tooru stated as her boyfriend finished his explanation. She then poked him in the cheeks and said, "Plus that would mean me and all your friends you made here would no longer get to spend our time together if you were quirkless again."

"Sorry," Izuku said with a sniff. He was holding back tears at this point.

"At least you acknowledge it was a dumb idea. I can understand your emotions being all over the place considering what happened though," Hagakure stated as she pulled in Midoriya in for a tight hug. As he returned the embrace, she said, "At least you're open about things, and we can discuss this as a proper couple should."

* * *

Izuku had never been to a funeral before in his life.

He wasn't prepared to have a rush of emotions as he saw Sir Nighteye in his coffin or when it was lowered into the ground.

It didn't help that this particular Wednesday evening was cold and rainy. It seemed so dumb and cliche, but it was just how it was.

Currently, Midoriya and Uraraka were sitting on a bench just outside the funeral home. Now, it was only drizzling, so the rain didn't bother them. Inside pro heroes and those in the others in internship groups. Izuku needed some fresh air, and Ochako tagged along.

The two didn't say anything as they drizzle slowly made their clothes wet. Eventually, Uraraka spoke up and said, "This is the first time I've been to a funeral." She paused before asking, "How about you Deku-kun?"

"Same," was all Midoriya could say. He wasn't feeling like talking.

More silence followed.

Izuku looked over to Ochako. She looked to be struggling to think of what to say.

The sound of footsteps against puddles brought both of their attention towards the funeral home.

It was Aizawa. He was wearing a black suit, typical of funerals, and was holding a black umbrella. It was odd seeing him in formal wear with his hair back.

Their homeroom teacher then asked, "You two trying to get soaked?"

"No sir, we just needed a change of scenery is all. It's our first time attending a funeral," Ochako answered as she stood up.

"Hmm," Shota grunted as if bored. He then looked to Izuku and sighed. Clearing his throat, Eraserhead then said, "Walk with me you two."

As Midoriya stood up, Aizawa handed his umbrella to Uraraka and said, "Hold this. You two are wet enough as is."

The students then followed their teacher to the graveyard in silence. Once they arrived, the pro hero spoke up and said, "I have some good news for you both that might help cheer you up." He then turned around to see a surprised look on both of the teenagers' faces.

"Eri-chan woke up this morning. Though her psychological state is still unstable so no visits for now," Shota stated.

Izuku was quick to ask, "And her fever?"

"Gone. The doctors were also able to figure out her quirk's state is related to the size of her horn, which is just a lump now," Aizawa answered. He then motioned his students to follow as they entered the graveyard. Eraserhead then said, "Utsushimi-san, or you may know her as Camie, from Shiketsu High was found alive. She even attended the makeup exams on Monday along with Todoroki-san and Bakugo-san."

The makeup license exam. Both the 1A students took the test early that morning and skipped school that day. And they both passed it seemed. Izuku was curious what they had to do, however.

Uraraka then asked, "Does she remember anything about the villain alliance?"

"No. They found narcotics in her blood samples, so it's safe to assume she was drugged the whole time during her capture. But she seems healthy now," Aizawa responded while rounding a corner.

"That's a relief to hear. I dreaded that she might not be alive," Midoriya said as he rubbed his temple.

Eraserhead stopped walking and said, "You and me both Midoriya-san."

They were now in front of Sir Nighteye's grave.

The pro hero stared at the tombstone as he said, "Because of the involvement of League of Villians the U.A. staff has agreed to halt the internship program for now."

To Izuku, it made sense. Though they had only received non-life threatening injuries, it could have been much worse. This was the best course of action for now.

Shota then turned around and looked at both students with a smirk as he said, "With the internship out of the way I'm willing to start your team training lessons Midoriya-san. That is if you're up to it."

Midoriya clenched both of his fists as he proclaimed, "Of course sir!"

"Good. I've already spoke with All Might about this. You both just need to tell the other four that we'll have a meeting about it after school on Friday. It's just for setting up the rules, the real training begins next week," Aizawa said as his smirk turned more into a gentle smile.

Seeing such an expression on the teacher's face was odd. Izuku wasn't sure he had seen it before on the man that stood before him but was glad to have seen it.

* * *

"This is still super suspicious if you ask me," Tooru said in a confused tone.

It was Friday after school. Yesterday and today had been quite odd for Izuku.

It started just before lunch on Thursday with Yuga trying to feed him some Pont-l'Évêque (a soft but pungent cheese from northwest France) out of the blue. Then it escalated to waking up to see his classmate staring down at him as he slept from outside his apartment on the veranda. Once Aoyoma left, Midoriya looked outside to find a plate full of cheese that spelled out 'I know.'

Izuku didn't know what to think as he the day went on until they had super move training that afternoon with Cementos. Yuga had gone overboard using his super moves to show off. Midoriya brought him to the side to allow him to rest but also to ask him in private what that the previous night.

When asked, Aoyoma stated that he knew that Midoriya's quirk wasn't suited for his body.

Izuku panicked until Yuga explained that they were similar. Until he got his support belt, his naval lasers would leak out and even now overuse caused him to have lower abdominal pains. Aoyama knew of saw Midoriya's struggle to control his quirk without wrecking his body and his recent mood cause of the aftermath of the yakuza raid. Izuku figured Yuga was just trying to encourage him to not give up in his weird way.

"I think Aoyama-kun is genuine here with what he did and said. I think he wants to be friends too," Midoriya answered.

Hagakure huffed, "If you say so. Just keep an eye on him. I'm just worried he might have figured out about your quirk."

The two were making their way to the teacher's offices to meet up with their friends and their teachers for the meeting. The meeting was directly after classes, so Izuku thought to use this small window to explain what he had experienced with Yuga.

They arrived to see Momo and Tenya seated outside one of the conference rooms. Mashirao and Ochako were not long after but as they arrived All Might opened the door and motioned them to come inside.

"Sorry about this, but Aizawa-san is gonna run a bit late today. The police had a surprise visit today and are here to question about a villain he's had run-ins with in the past. It should just be for a few minutes wait, however," the former pro hero stated as he let the students in.

Tenya was quick to bow as he said, "Thanks for giving this opportunity All Might-sensei. I was surprised to hear that you'd be involved in this when Midoirya-kun explained what this was.

"No problem. Young Midoriya has quite a way with words. It was a fascinating proposal that was hard to refuse," Toshinari responded as he took a seat on one end of a large rectangular table.

Everyone sat on the opposite end of the table, of which there were eight seats so it could easily fit them all.

"I wish we could have done this under better circumstances considering that the internship program has been put on hold, but at least it will give you all something extra to work on outside your normal studies," Yagi stated once everyone was seated.

"Not gonna lie, you being here is half the reason I decided to come here sensei," Ojiro said.

All Might wore a big grin as she said, "I'm flattered Ojiro-san. But do know that Aizawa-san and I with have equal footing here in your training."

Mashirao nodded as he replied, "Fair enough."

"Now before we begin we might as well get the paperwork out of the way," Toshinari stated as he pulled a slip of paper from a bookbag at his side.

Tooru was quick to ask, "Paperwork?"

"Yes. Any outside training like this that isn't a one on one interaction needs to be documented. It's nothing too complicated though," Yagi explained before sliding the paper to the other side of the table for the students to see. As the teens leaned in to get a good look, the teacher continued by saying, "Aizawa-san and I have already signed for its approval and filled out the purpose for this activity for you. All you need to do is sign your names and come up with a name for it is all."

Yaoyorozu and Ida immediately started brainstorming possible names to each other. The others began signing the document.

When it came to Izuku, he briefly glanced at the purpose. It read, To facilitate training and exercises to better prepare students for pro hero teams that specialize in large team numbers. There was much more after that, which felt like a checklist of things to accomplish than anything, but he got the gist of it.

Midoriya handed the paper to Ida to sign next who then brought it to Yaoyorozu.

"It's decided then, the Team Appreciation Club or TAC for short," Momo said with a grin as she signed it.

Tenya nodded at the statement.

Izuku thought it worked well enough.

Ochako and Mashirao didn't seem to be really into it judging by their faces.

"Well that's pretty boring sounding, but it's just a silly name, it's the training that matters," Tooru stated.

Ojiro and Uraraka didn't argue against it, so the name was decided.

Just as Yagi grabbed the paper, Aizawa entered the room looking disgruntled, well more than usual. He took a seat beside the other teacher and glanced over at the paper and gave a slight nod. Shota then spoke up and said, "My apologies, just some past stuff creeping up again."

The students exchanged looks at one another.

Izuku wondered who this villain was. Since Eraserhead wasn't very public about his hero work, such information, like, his arch enemies he didn't know.

"Anyways. A couple of details up front," Aizawa said as he turned to Yagi.

All Might nodded before explaining, "We plan to have weekly training opportunities every Monday after dinner. The length will be flexible depending on what Aizawa and I have planned, but it shouldn't run too late." He coughed before continuing with, "It will be gradual at first since we want to determine how you function as a group but once things get to full swing don't expect it to be easy. Though I hope you are all up to the task and come out as better heroes because of this special regiment we have planned."

Eraserhead then spoke up and said, "Now if there is any sign that this is affecting anyone's normal studies I might ask you to step out or even disband the entire thing. I expect good grades and performance in your regular classes if you wanna stay in this training." He then glanced around, "I know for some of you that might be easier than others, but if someone is truly struggling, then it's your job as a team to support each other. You're only as strong as your weakest member."

Toshinori stepped in again and said, "We're also still open to suggestions as well. This training is a bit unknown territory as we usually don't teach students this early in the program about such team dynamics."

Shota nodded as he explained, "As you know so far you've only had to work in pairs in your classes. Only the 2nd event of the Hero Festival and the recent first part of the Provisional Hero Licence Exam had you working in bigger groups. I have planned a bigger team exercise this December, but like All Might said, there isn't much planned for you first years on this subject."

Tenya then raised his hand.

Aizawa sighed and said, "Classes are over Ida-san, no need to raise your hand, just speak."

The class president blushed as he lowered his hand but said, "Sorry sir, a force of habit. Anyways, is this supposed to be a secret to our classmates or not?"

Eraserhead shrugged as he answered, "Up to you all. I'm guessing cause you feel it might feel unfair to your classmates?"

Ida nodded as he stated, "Indeed sensei. Some of them might want to join, but I figure this is all we can have?"

"I accepted this cause it was only a couple of you. Plus you and your friends here have become a tight-knit group, which will help in making this thing work," Aizawa replied.

Izuku knew why Tenya had asked this. There was interest amongst a lot of the classmates to hero teams on Thursday. The thing started when Denki shared that Mt. Lady and Kamui were teaming up. And things escalated from there. He wondered, what was the best course of action here.

"I suggest you keep it under wraps for now but if the word gets out so be it," All Might stated.

Eraserhead then asked, "Any more questions?"

Uraraka spoke up and asked, "How long do is this planned to go on?"

Midoriya hadn't considered that at all. He hoped for the rest of his time at this school, but he realized that wasn't a guarantee.

"As long as there are lessons to teach or experience I believe as long as possible. That might be until the end of your first year, or until you graduate, we'll see as we go," Yagi responded with confidence.

Aizawa glanced over at All Might and gave him a particular look. He then shrugged and sighed before saying, "And there you have it. Unless there's anything else, that will be the end of this."

No one else had anything to say, so they all slowly made their way out.

Most of them went their separate ways once they left but Izuku stayed with Tooru. Something was nagging at him all week and wanted to ask his girlfriend what was up.

They chatted about the meeting, but as they approached their dorm, Midoriya asked, "Hey Tooru. I've noticed you've been messing with your head all week. What gives?"

The invisible girl had been regularly bringing her arm to her head messing with it. He had a feeling it had something do with her hair, but it didn't bother him until it started happening day after day. She didn't do it much in school, but in the dorms, it was a different story.

Tooru was quick to respond, "Oh it's been that noticeable? Sorry, my hair has become longer than to my liking. Last time my mom cut it was the morning of my birthday. I usually would have had it cut by now but you know, living here complicates that."

Izuku was now quite curious and then asked, "It's that annoying?"

"I think it's more I've just had short hair for so long now that I feel weird when it's this long," Hagakure replied. She then said, "I plan to go to my parent's this Sunday after our video chat so my mom can cut it shot again."

Midoriya didn't hesitate to ask, "Can I come too?"

Tooru replied, "I mean I'm just going to have my hair get cut and have some dinner. You sure you wanna come still?"

"Of course! I've intrigued on how your mom does it," Izuku responded with zest in his voice.

Hagakure paced back in forth for a few seconds before stating, "Okay. But only under the condition that this doesn't count as our monthly date."

Midoriya nodded as he said, "That's fine." He then put a hand to his chin as said, "We should probably just do the video chat at your place to save time."

"Makes sense," Tooru said as she grabbed Izuku's arm. She then stated, "I hope it's not too boring for you."

"I'll make do," Izuku said with a grin.

* * *

"You weren't kidding Tooru, your hair is a mess," Mitsu said as she fingered through her daughter's hair.

From Izuku's view, however, it just looked like the woman was making weird hand motions above his girlfriend's head.

"Told you so, now let's get this over with. It's been forever since I let it get this long and it's driving me crazy," Tooru responded in an irritated voice.

The mother gave a short chuckle before beginning her work.

This was all currently happening in the kitchen in the Hagakure household. Mr. Hagakure and Midoriya had moved the dining table and chairs earlier and as Mrs. Hagakure set up her station. She set up a tarp and wheeled a chair that she could adjust the height of. Mitsu also pulled up a small table to hold her tools which included an electric clipper, clipper guards, a brush, a mist bottle, and some towels.

They all had previously done the video chat in the living room. Inko was surprised to see her son and Tooru not alone. It was during this time that the couple revealed the team training to their parents. The adults all seemed interested and confident in the activity. After the video chat was over Mitsu asked the guys to help move furniture.

Mrs. Hagakure began by brushing and then grabbing her electric clipper. She started on Tooru's sideburns, and with her left hand, she felt ahead of what she was cutting with the clipper in the right hand. Even afterward Mitsu would go back and explore the area she just cut and would make small snips here and there. Next, she worked on the back of Tooru's head. This went much quicker.

The red-headed women then switched to a larger clipper guard before making work on the top of her daughter's head. This also went by quickly, and the only difference was that she didn't with to guide with her left hand. Once finished, Mitsu misted Tooru's head and then dried it with a towel.

Mrs. Hagakure then asked, "How does it feel?"

Judging from the movement of her white snap bracelets, Izuku could tell Tooru was feeling around her hair. After a few seconds, she replied, "Much better. Thanks, mom." The invisible girl then jumped out of her chair once her mother removed her hair cutting apron. She then said, "I'm going to head upstairs and wash up."

As Tooru left Izuku approached her mother and said, "Thanks for letting me watch Hagakure-san. It was interesting!"

"You're an odd one boy. It's nothing special. Just takes practice," Mitsu said as she washed her clipper and it's guards.

Now was the time, however. Midoriya took a deep breath before asking, "Ma'am do you mind teaching me how to cut Tooru's hair?"

The red-headed women gave the boy a perplexed look before responding with, "To what purpose?"

"Oh, um, I thought it could be a neat thing I could do for her. It might be more convenient for Tooru too," Izuku answered with a hint of nervousness in his tone.

Mitsu sighed before saying, "That's cute to offer Midoriya-san, but I prefer to do it myself, so it gives a reason for my daughter to visit. Knowing her, she would come less if you started doing it." Before her guest could reply tho, the woman stated, "But she is a growing girl, and maybe I'm just being selfish here." She looked back at Izuku and said, "Alright I'll do it, but there's not much to say."

"I'll take anything you got Ma'am," Midoriya stated with an eager expression upon his face.

"Let's move everything back before I explain then," Hagakure said as she finished cleaning her tools.

As Mitsu folded the tarp, Izuku started to bring the dining room chairs back in. Then they both worked to together to bring in the table. Mr. Hagakure had already gone to take a nap after the video chat since he worked all night to finish up an order for a client that was due today.

Once everything was back in its proper place, they both took a seat before Mrs. Hagakure started by saying, "Really it's just about knowing where you should be cutting and getting a feel for where everything is. With years of practice I only really need to be careful around her sideburns and ears. Everything else is second nature at this point."

"So I would need to feel her hair to get the gist of things," Midoriya stated as he placed a hand on his chin.

Mitsu blushed slightly as she said, "Pretty much. Not that I agree with you doing such a thing but that between you and Tooru."

"She let me feel it once, on her birthday," Izuku said with a blush of his own. He then quickly said, "S-She offered though."

This intrigued the red-headed women, judging from her face. She then said, "Interesting. The last time I cut her hair was that morning. So you already got a feel for how it is at it's shortest." Hagakure then seemed to go in deep thought for a few moments before saying, "It would be best to familiarize what it feels like within a week or two cause that's your target. It's best that you cut it every month and a half to two months."

"Or whenever she starts to complain about it," Midoriya stated.

They both shared a laughed at the last comment.

Once they both calmed down, Izuku asked, "What size cut does Tooru take?"

"Oh, that? Sides are number a two, and the top is number four. We tried various sizes when Tooru was little, but she eventually settled for these," Mistsu responded. She then looked towards the hallway with a worrying look. "I wonder what's taking Tooru so long up there," the red-headed woman stated.

"I'll go check if you want," Midoriya stated as he stood up.

"Sure. Just keep her company until I call you two down for dinner. I need to get started on cooking anyways," Hagakure said as she got up as well.

Izuku thanked her before making his way upstairs. As he rounded the corner, the door to Tooru's room was open. Midoriya walked in to find that his girlfriend was nowhere to be seen. Her room was pretty bare at this point, the bed and curtains were now plain, and some new furniture was in the room. It seemed to have been converted to a guest room. But the real issue here was the pile of clothes on the bed.

Midoriya gulped as he said, "Tooru. You're not nude again are you."

"Yeah but I'm in the bathroom," said a muffled voice to Izuku's right. The door to Tooru's bathroom was closed when he looked to the right.

Midoriya was quick to ask, "Why are you naked!?"

"I'm just having a soak. And quiet down, will you? You're gonna give my parents ideas if they hear you," Hagakure responded.

Izuku sighed and then said in a quieter voice, "Sorry. I'll just head back downstairs then."

"No. Please stay. I'm almost done here," Tooru pleaded.

Izuku could her a rush of water and realized she had gotten out of the bath. He then said, "I'll just wait outside your room then until your ready."

Hagakure then asked, "There's no need but do you mind handing me my clothes? They should be on the bed."

"A-Ah sure give me a s-second," Midoriya studdered as he went over to pick them up. They were the same clothes she wore earlier. A yellow long sleeve shirt with a purple skirt. He was glad no underwear seemed to be hanging out as he picked it up.

The door to Tooru's bathroom suddenly opened slightly, and a wet outline extended itself outward. She then said, "Hand it over."

Izuku did as he was told and the door shut.

"Thanks, Izuku. I should just be a minute," the invisible girl said with glee.

As he waited, Midoriya took a seat on the bed. As not to think of his girlfriend wiping herself off with a towel or dressing, he thought of wanting to learn how he was going to go about learning how to familiarize himself with her hair. The main issue was where could he go to do this private. In no way did Izuku want to do this in front of others.

Before Izuku could form any concrete idea, the bathroom door opened. Tooru walking out with a towel on her head as she quickly dried her hair.

"That felt good," Hagakure stated with relief as she tossed the towel to the side. She then walked to the entrance of her room and closed the door.

Midoriya then heard the click of a lock, and his heart started to race. He then asked slowly, "T-Tooru why did you l-lock the door?"

"I wanna try something," Tooru replied innocently. Her voice changed to annoyance as she said, "And I don't want any interruptions."

"Uhhhh," was all the flustered boy could muster.

"Get your head out of the gutter. I just want to try french kissing again," Hagakure stated with a giggle.

That wasn't as bad as Midoriya had initially thought but was still concerning. He then responded with, "O-Okay then."

Tooru then came on over, but Izuku wasn't prepared to be pushed onto her back by her. She then sat on his lower chest, just above his waist.

Midoriya gulped loudly and tried to compose himself. After a few moments, he said, "T-Tooru you're wearing a s-skirt so that means-." He then felt a finger pressed against his lips.

"You'd have a point if that was any time before Monday, but I finally got those special panties I asked for, and I've been wearing them when wearing skirts like these ever since," Hagakure explained.

Midoriya froze as he saw his girlfriend lifted the front of her skirt. He then saw her left snap bracelet come to the side of her thighs. After a moment it extended out away from her hips. Izuku then heard a snap.

"See? There's something there even if I'm not exactly ready to show you what it looks like," Tooru stated.

Midoriya felt he didn't need a demonstration but appreciated it somewhat. After his girlfriend removed her finger from his mouth and he had taken a couple of deep breathes, he asked, "S-So they work like your hero suit?"

"Yep. Only turn transparent when coming in contact with my skin. They only come in white though. Such a plain color but then again it's not like it matters since you can't see them when it matters," the invisible girl chuckled. Before Izuku could say anything more, Tooru continued by saying, "Now enough about my underwear I wanna practice kissing some more. If we both breath this time I think it will be a more pleasing experience for both of us."

At this point, Midoriya felt like every pore on his face was probably beet red. Regardless he nodded slowly. Within moments he felt Hagakure's mouth on his. Her tongue was quick to find it's way in, and eventually so was his.

Exploration. That seemed to be Tooru's goal from what Izuku could figure. While he reacted to her advances, he noticed her slow survey of his mouth with her tongue. As Midoriya felt her exhale and inhale from her nose, he remembered to breathe himself.

There were no words exchanged for the next few minutes. Just each parting for a few seconds at a time to take a break from the experience.

To Izuku, the whole ordeal was a lot different from last time. He was enjoying it; his only problem was the taste. Last time it was minty this time it was just there. He preferred the sweetness previous time even though it was so short.

Eventually, Tooru backed off and got off her boyfriend. She then laid down on his right and panted for a few moments.

"Well, that was an improvement from our last date," Hagakure huffed.

"Y-Yeah," Midoriya blurted out.

This caused Tooru to giggle. She then said, "I kind of took over there though. You should be a bit more into Izuku. It just felt like you went along with everything I did."

"Oh. I'm sorry I kind of just blanked out there," Izuku replied as he rubbed his temple. It did feel like a blur just moments after the fact.

"It's okay. We'll get better as we go. I just wanted to try it again since we really won't be getting many opportunities to practice," Hagakure explained as she grabbed her boyfriend's hand.

The logic made sense to Izuku. But it then got him to think how they could practice more outside of dates, which would only come once a month as he promised. It was the same problem as finding a time to feel Tooru's hair. Perhaps this was a 'two birds with one stone' sort of approach. But an actual solution still evaded his mind at the moment.

"Izuku you're muttered at lightning speed," Tooru stated as she poked her boyfriend in the cheek with her free hand.

"R-Right. I was just considering how we could practice more outside our dates is all," Midoriya answered.

Hagakure pulled the confused boy up out of her bed as she said, "I'm sure you'll think of something. But that's enough training for today. Let's see what my mom is cooking up for us."

As the invisible girl dragged Izuku to the door and unlocked it, he thought, yeah training for another time. Just how though?

* * *

 **Ooof.**

 **It's been a long time since I released a chapter this late, like chapter 9 in late September of last year.**

 **The reason though? Trying to do too much, writer's block, and errors about the timeline.**

 **To start, I tried starting too much in this chapter. I wanted to do things with Mina and Jiro but later felt I could do those later in this arc.** **Bakugo** **was going to have a scene, but I moved that to chapter 25. The school festival initial planning was going to be in this chapter as well. It was just too much and felt like I was jumping all over the place in this chapter (I still get that feeling in this one but too late for that).**

 **Next, writer's block. This chapter was the first time this has occurred to me. Sure stuff before might have been difficult and slow to write previously but never me staring at my screen, writing nothing for four days. And the reason was...**

 **Timeline errors. Going into this chapter, I thought Aizawa introduced the School Festival earlier. When I checked in on the manga for an irrelevant detail, I noticed my mistake and had to rewrite whole scenes because of this as I was late into writing the chapter. I then decided to end on the house visit and let the school festival arc begin proper next chapter.**

 **The good news is because so much written material was moved to the next chapter, chapter 25 has a decent portion written (mostly the latter half). So the next chapter will release ahead of schedule, on September 23rd. It's the least I can do for releasing this so late.**

 **So let's get to the chapter itself now.**

 **Aoyama is briefly mentioned here, as skipping what he did in canon would be silly, and I want to set him up as a different role to Izuku's current list of friends. He'll have a scene next chapter depicting that role, and I hope you'll enjoy what I plan to do with him.**

 **The activity Sato is setting up will be revealed next chapter and will be a big part of chapter 26. I'm happy that's it's finally coming to fruition as it's going to be interactions galore and revisit a character we haven't seen for a while other than being mentioned.**

 **The visit to Tooru's ended up being expanded on as I wrote. I initially had Izuku observe her hair being cut and theorize what he could do to learn to do itself. But then the idea of Tooru wanting to practice french kissing came into my mind and so I added the bedroom stuff. The "practicing" was originally going to be in chapter 25 but I felt this would give Izuku more incentive to set something up.**

 **The hero team training will be the early focus of the next chapter. It will be my second foray into writing fight scenes, and I'm eager to write some again.**

 **My next commission project is currently halfway done. It's** **a MHA** **x Persona 5 crossover, with two pictures. The first is done and depicts the main group of six in Cubicity + one more portrayed as the Phantom Thieves. The second is at the line art stage and has them all doing a selfie in casual winter clothing. I want to release them together, so I'm waiting for the second picture is finished. Anush_arts on Tumblr is the artist, but school just started again for her, so it's slowed down her ability to work on it. Whenever it's finished, expect it on my Tumblr like all the other art I commission. Other than that not much on Tumblr. Post 21 goes over my thoughts over the various fanfiction websites. Post 22 is my review of the recently finished Pro Hero arc. Post 23 is about the delay of this chapter, but that ended up being pushed back even more. :(**

 **Night Foilage finished editing chapter 13, and it's now 17,066 words long with a whopping 273 edits. To be fair most of those were added details here and there.**

 **Anywho, I apologize for the lateness. Please look forward to the next chapter early AND ON TIME soon.**


	25. Training Begins

Chapter 25: Training Begins

Izuku wondered as the blank gray walls of towered above him. He was both excited and perplexed at the current activity he was doing.

The hero team training had begun.

After dinner, they all suited up but were surprised that Cementoss was also there in Gym Gamma. All Might and Eraserhead said they required his assistance today and he was happy to give it. Aizawa started the lesson by explaining he wanted to get something out of the way before they could get serious about this training.

Cementoss then took out a piece of paper and studied it for a few seconds before kneeling down to touch the ground. Slowly, many walls started to raise up throughout the building's floor. As it did, All Might spoke up with, "Today we'll doing simply one on one battle training with a twist."

Aizawa nodded as he said, "You will all be assigned one of six entrances to the maze that Cementoss is currently constructing. I will also be secretly giving you a certain color."

"Your first objective will be to find someone of the same color assignment. Once you do, you must fight them until we feel satisfied with the results," Yagi explained as he opened a box. He then pulled out body cameras and handed them out to everyone but Hagakure. The former pro hero then said, "We will use these to monitor your progress but to make this fair for Hagakure-san, she will be without one."

Tooru was quick to ask, "You mean I can go all out?"

Toshinori grinned as he answered, "Yes, it's what we want. Our desired result of today's training will only come if you all push yourselves past the new challenge we will be presenting you. So for that to happen, you need to be fully invisible."

Hagakure cheered and then proceeded to take off her gloves.

Midoriya noted at the time that since Tooru had received her new boots, she only had her gloves to tell everyone where she was during training. He wondered what she felt about having to hinder her quirk's effectiveness during most training exercises to prevent accidents. A question for later.

Izuku shook his head as he brought himself back to the present. He then took a peek around a corner to see if anywhere was there. Nothiing, but there were three options offered to him. Right. Left. Forward. Midoriya's current tactic was to get to get as far to the center he could. He figured it would increase his chances of encountering anybody. By using the lights above, Izuku had been using them as a guide to make sure he was heading the right way despite all the twists and turns the maze was offering.

As Midoriya walked forward and took a right, he went over his attack plan. The corridors were thin; only about the width of three people standing side by side. He figured this would make fighting quite limited if it came to fists. The walls themselves Izuku guessed were about three meters tall, and there was an open ceiling. It would be easy to scale with his quirk, but they were barred from going over the walls by their homeroom teacher. Midoriya guessed this was mainly said so Uraraka wouldn't easily float above the maze to find people. Another rule was that they weren't allowed to destroy the walls to find someone and had to limit damage during combat. It was another indoor exercise to push that fact that collateral damage should be avoided as much as possible.

Just as Midoriya was going to take a left, as it was his only option here, Ojiro came from around the corner.

The two immediately went into a fighting stance. Izuku recognized Mashiro's position as the traditional Muay Thai stance he used against Neito when defending Koji so many months ago.

Ojiro was first to speak, "My color is blue. How about you?"

Midoriya relaxed as he responded, "Yellow."

Mashirao dropped his fighting stance as he stated, "Darn. I wanted to fight you for real for once."

"Maybe soon," Izuku stated while giving a thumbs up. He then said, "This training will most likely have us go head to head eventually."

"You're right. But I wish it would have been today," Ojiro groaned. He then started to walk forward and as passed, said, "I haven't seen anyone else yet, but I think I heard Ida-kun talking earlier. No idea what he was saying and who he was speaking to though as he sounded like he many walls over."

Midoriya cupped his chin as he stated, "You're the first I've seen too. No sign of anyone else." He then mentally crossed his tailed friend off of possible people he might fight today. Izuku's main concerns were Momo and Tooru. The former cause of their versatile quirk prowess, as it was hard to strategize how to react to it besides acting before she could create anything. The latter was not wanting to hurt his girlfriend. Midoriya figured it was a possibility it might happen and was ready to do so if it did, but he knew would have hated every moment of it.

The two then wished each other luck and parted ways.

It wasn't long after that when Midoriya started hearing a scuffle happening to his left. It was muffled, but from pressing his ear against the wall, he was for sure it wasn't happening right next to him. Izuku then heard a loud grunt from what sounded like Ochako. Who was she fighting? Either way, it meant she wasn't his target.

Midoriya sighed as he continued down what seemed like an endless maze. He didn't like his chances here.

Just as the sounds of the fight became almost too faint to hear anymore, Izuku suddenly stopped in his tracks. He smelled something. It took a moment to recognize what it was, mint, and what it meant.

Tooru was nearby!

Before Midoriya could react, he felt a sudden hard blow to the stomach. As he activated Full Cowl, he felt a jab to his right foot, and it threw him off balance. However, before dropping onto his back, Izuku stopped the fall with his hands and feet. He then backflipped and put some distance between him and his opponent. Midoriya then coughed before asking, "So you have been tailing me before or after I ran into Ojiro-kun?"

"After," Hagakure replied reluctantly. She then explained by saying, "I found Ojiro-kun first and waited to see if he ran into anyone else to confirm his color or anyone else he ran into."

The pain from the punch Izuku received had already subsided by this point. It was a good punch, and if he hadn't expected an attack the moment before it would have made it easier for Tooru to knock him off balance. Her strategy made sense to Midoriya up to the point of what to do if he had fallen. Would Hagakure pin him down? Retreat to make another attack? The latter wouldn't make sense cause that would give him the chance to activate his quirk and be at an advantage.

Izuku then took a deep breathe and focused for a second. He thought, just a light kick to knock her down. No need to do anything drastic. Midoriya then lunged forward towards the spot he guessed his girlfriend was standing with a forward kick.

Nothing connected though, and Izuku immediately ducked down and did a sweeping kick as he landed.

Still, there was no contact.

Was Hagakure keeping her distance to find another vantage point to attack him again? Either way, Midoriya knew 5% Full Cowl wasn't cutting it. Tooru was too fast. Perhaps it was time to bump it up to 8% the next opportunity he got, Izuku pondered. Though would he be able to switch back to 5% quick enough as to not damage Hagakure too severely? Midoriya then rubbed his temple. Was he too soft about this? Eraserhead did say to go all out, but 20% was out of the question.

Izuku then had an idea. Maybe 20% was exactly what he needed.

Midoriya upped his power output to 8% and started sprinting back the way he came. As he rounded a corner, he for a few seconds rose his power to 20% and grabbed the edge of a wall and ripped off a piece of concrete only to crush it in his hand into dust. Izuku then lowered back to his previous level and continued down the maze. Once he found what he was looking for he stopped running and prepared mentally what was about to happen next.

A dead end. There were many of these throughout the maze, and now Midoriya had a use for them. He walked as far as he could and turned around to see nothing in front of him. But Izuku knew Tooru was there as he heard soft panting.

"See I told you should have used your quirk on our little run at the end of our first term. It's much more fun to chase you like this," Hagakure eventually said as she caught her breath.

"We'll have to have a nice jog with each other again sometime," Midoriya said with a grin. He liked the idea, but he was hoping the conversation was bringing her closer. Izuku then asked, "So you were using Ragdoll's teachings back there earlier?"

No response.

Hagakure must be closing in then, Midoriya figured. This was his chance. Izuku then brought out 20% of Full Cowl and stomped the ground with his right foot. Cracks and fissures appeared everywhere in front of him as cement crumbled. He heard his girlfriend gasp as the floor beneath her fractured.

Izuku then enacted the final phase of his plan and threw the cement dust from earlier towards the sound he heard before. The dust connected and seemed to hit Tooru on the chest. Even if he had missed the idea was that she wouldn't be able to move without exposing herself. The broken concrete would shift if Hagakure tried to move and the dust was to pinpoint her location to leave out the guesswork.

Midoriya figured he would need to use his full power to make this work. Sure he could damage the ground with his lower power settings but he needed it to be as hazardous as possible, and it seemed to have worked. Plus he needed to crumble the concrete in his hand as best he could and 20% did it just fine.

Hagakure then said, "Okay you got me. Now what?" The tone in her voice was a teasing sort, and it threw off her boyfriend.

Midoriya took a few steps forward and grabbed her shoulder. Before he could say anything, a voice chimed in his earpiece and gave instructions.

"That's all we need to see Midoriya-san. You and Hagakure-san can exit the maze once Cementoss makes a path for you."

It was Aizawa. After being assigned his color, Izuku was given an earpiece by his homeroom teacher and was told this was how they would find out when the exercise was over. Still, it surprised him, as he thought his body cam was recording not a two-way camera that the teachers were monitoring.

Within seconds the dead end behind Midoriya began to lower as did the walls behind it revealing a path outside the maze.

"Looks like I lost then. Come on let's go," Hagakure said as she put a hand on the victor's shoulder. Her voice sounded cheerful despite the loss.

As the two began to out of the maze hand in hand, Izuku asked, "Those new shoes of yours work like a charm. I couldn't hear a thing as you sprinted around with them."

Tooru replied, "I know they're fantastic!" She then chuckled and said, "Though the best I could do was just get one good punch on you and almost knock you down on your butt."

"Still it's progress. I mean it's better than just being strictly a support hero. I think you should be able to fight as well," Midoriya stated.

"I know. But even then, I'm not that strong physically; there's still a limit to how much I can do," Hagakure answered with a sigh.

Izuku struggled to think of what to say next. Though he didn't get much more time to brainstorm a response as All Might stepped up to the two as they exited the maze.

"Good job you two. You both completed the objective," Toshinori stated with a thumbs up.

Tooru then asked, "What was the goal then? I was cornered and had lost. So how did I pass, Yagi-sensei? I don't understand."

Yagi answered, "You'll find out in due time. Anyways both of you can change back to your normal clothes and return here once done. We'll discuss the results then."

Midoriya and Hagakure thanked their teacher and separated as they went to change.

Izuku entered the locker room to find Tenya taking a shower. He figured his friend's fight must have worked up a good sweat and then asked, "You're done already Ida-kun?"

The class president remained focused on washing his hair as he answered, "Ah hello Midoriya-kun. And yes, Ochako and I finished our skirmish with haste but it was quite a brawl."

So that was who he heard fighting Ochako, Izuku thought. If that was the case, then Mashirao and Momo were battling each other right now. He noticed a pattern here but put it aside to ask, "So what happened?"

Ida sighed and rinsed his hair before turning off the water. He then explained, "Our teachers called it off before there was a clear winner."

"You too huh? I had Tooru exposed, but our exchange was also halted," Midoriya replied.

Tenya then asked, "Exposed? What do you mean?"

Izuku then explained his encounter with Tooru as his friend dried off his body and got dressed. As he explained, Midoriya noticed that without his glasses and with his hair back since it was wet, the class president looked very different than his typical look. Anyways, just as Ida was about to explain what happened in his fight, Ojiro opened the door to the locker room looking exhausted.

Tenya was quick to ask, "How did it go?"

"I lost, but I'll talk about it later," Mashirao responded as he opened a locker and took out his clothes to change.

Ida then asked, "You sure you don't want a shower? You look pretty sweaty."

"Nah. I can wait till we get back to the dorms," Ojiro answered as he started undressing.

Tenya and Izuku exchanged looks but then shrugged at one another.

It wasn't long until the three left to meet back up with everyone else. Ida kept a towel over his shoulders and left his hair as it was. The boys also learned Ida had broken his glasses again and forgot to put a spare in his backpack. So with a hand on Izuku's shoulder, Tenya was guided back to the gym. The class president explained that Ochako had landed an excellent kick to his helmet, knocking it off and breaking his glasses. She led him to the boy's locker room after their match as a way to make amends.

Cementoss had already left by the time they returned, and the gym looked normal again. The girls were all there waiting. Izuku glanced at Momo, and she looked tired but cheerful. Perhaps from the win? Ochako was looking at Tenya with interest, a blush on her face. Midoriya couldn't argue that Ida's more handsome look was probably hard to miss by his girlfriend.

Either way, once the boys arrived both teachers got up from the table, they were sitting at. It had multiple laptops on it, and Izuku figured this is how they were watching the fights.

Aizawa spoke first by saying, "Today's results were satisfactory. But the main objective was fulfilled by all of you so we can continue with this training going forward. We will be sending you a video of how your classmates fared later this week. Be sure to watch them on your own time to pinpoint the mistakes that were made."

That was very different tone than All Might's positivity from earlier, Izuku noted. His mentor was currently looking over at the homeroom teacher with an eyebrow raised.

"Anyways, the goal of today tackled a certain problem that could crop up during this training or just school work in general," Yagi explained.

Eraserhead then said, "And this problem is unique to your group."

Midoriya had a good idea of what it was and looking over at his friends, Ida and Yaoyorozu did too as both nodded almost in unison. The other two that he could tell had confused looks on their faces, and he guessed Tooru was probably clueless as well.

Shota sighed as he said, "I've already told this to Midoriya-san, but I might as well repeat it since you are all here." He paused before continuing with, "I have no problem with my students dating as long as it doesn't affect school work. And so far you all haven't let that happen, but one concern I've had is what might happen if you were forced to work against one another for an exercise. It hasn't happened yet, but in this training and at school it's going to happen. So today's objective was to see if you were willing to fight seriously against your beloved partner."

"And for the most part you all did that quite well," Toshinori said with a grin.

With a grunt, Aizawa stated, "For the most part yes. Though there were some signs of hesitance." He turned his head towards Ida as he said, "Twice you could have had an advantage against Uraraka-san but stopped mid-attack Ida-san. It wasn't until after you lost your helmet did you get serious."

"You are correct, and I apologize sensei. I was having second thoughts about how much power I had put into my kicks then and pulled back," Tenya said with a bow.

With a shrug, Shota responded with, "Uraraka-san is tougher than you think, remember that. Besides, there are always alternative ways to take down an opponent if you're afraid of the power your quirk being too much in a certain situation."

All Might held up his index finger as he said, "On that note, look no further than Midoriya-san's strategy against Hagakure-san as an example of this. He used a mostly non-violent method to locate and corner her despite the nature of her quirk."

Eraserhead scratched his right cheek as he stated, "I guess if we are giving out praise we might as well get that out of the way before we get back to the issues." The teacher looked over to Tooru as he stated, "Out of everyone here Hagakure-san, you were the most direct in attacking your opponent. Even if the attempt failed I cannot deny you embodied the goal of today's lesson the most."

"Thanks, sir. But I was mostly being gung ho about it cause I figured I wouldn't do that much damage to Izuku anyways," Hagakure stated.

Aizawa nodded before saying, "We will address your combat skills another day, but for today's lesson, you did well." He then closed his eyes before speaking again and said, "Ojiro-san and Yaoyorozu-san, you both showed good endurance today."

Both student's grins soon turned to frowns though as their homeroom teacher explained, "But you both lacked drive after your initial exchange, hence why your battle was so drawn out compared to the others. That last push through you both showed is what made me and All Might decide to pass you."

"Yes sir," both teens said in unison.

"And for last, Midoriya-san. That was excessive damage with that stomp of yours. If you had not been on the first floor of a building, it would have lead to disastrous results,"

Izuku gave a nod as a response, which seemed to satisfy Shota. He thought he kept it to a minimum but forgot to consider that he wouldn't always be on the ground when fighting.

Tooru then spoke up and asked, "Can I ask a question about today's lesson?"

Eraserhead sighed before giving a nod.

Hagakure then asked, "So if today's exercise was about us being willing to fight our boyfriend or girlfriend, doesn't that mean it was a waste for Ojiro-kun and Yaoyorozu-chan since they are not dating?"

Both students mentioned fidgeted upon hearing this question.

Aizawa grunted and rubbed his temple as he said, "This is not what I signed up for."

Ida and Uraraka gave confused looks, but Midoriya heard his girlfriend hold back a chuckle. Before he could ask her what she was planning, he noticed Ojiro give Yaoyorozu a particular look. She sighed before giving a few nods. Mashirao then scratched the back of his head as he turned his head back towards the group and said, "Well, Aizawa-sensei was correct in his assumption cause Momo and I went on a date last night."

Ochako and Tenya were quick to congratulate the two with Tooru not far behind. Izuku shrugged and joined in, figuring it might as well appear like it's news to him as well.

Uraraka then asked how this had started, and as Ojiro explained, Midoriya began to reflect on what was happening. While the reveal was similar in the timeframe to how he and his girlfriend told his friends, this was more forced. Tenya and Ochako had been more gradually, revealing their relationship to their friends slowly as weeks passed. But how would this play out when telling the entire class? Izuku had his relationship unceremoniously announced by Mashirao, and the class president's by his girlfriend kissing him in front of everyone on his birthday. He figured they would want to date more before revealing such a thing.

Midoriya then looked around and noticed Aizawa was nowhere to be seen. He then looked to All Might and asked, "Where did Aizawa-sensei go?"

Yagi exhaled as he answered, "Well he gave me a small wave and took his leave. I guess teenage romance is not something he cares to wait for. Besides we're done here so not an issue minus not formally ending this."

After things calmed down and Toshinori explained Shota's absence, Momo then asked, "All Might-sensei, do you know how Aizawa-sensei knew of me going out with Mashirao?"

The former pro hero nodded before replied with, "When any student exits or enters the front entrance of U.A. a timestamp is made as well as a photo. Aizawa-san makes it his business to know when and what his students are doing on their time off. He never told me exactly what he saw, but I guess he saw you two leaving and arriving at a similar time and assumed you were dating."

"Makes sense. We left and came back to the dorms at different times but were together going both ways at the school entrance," Ojiro said.

Yaoyorozu sighed as he stated, "I thought my plan for us to remain a secret was going to work too."

Mashirao put a hand on his new girlfriend's shoulder as he said, "These things happen, don't be too hard on yourself. And hey, at least we got the whole awkward telling our friends shtick out of the way early."

Momo smiled and nodded before saying, "Yeah I guess you're right."

Tenya then spoke up and asked, "Sensei if our homeroom teacher only found this out last night, then this training must have been done last minute, right?"

"You are very much right Ida-san. I got a call from Aizawa-san last night asking to change our original plan for today. We then both asked Cementoss if he would assist us this morning before classes and he was happy to help. That lesson will be on next Monday, I can assure you." Toshinori explained.

Ochako then asked, "What would have happened if we failed?"

Yagi crossed his arms and thought for a few moments before responding with, "Well we would have put this off for a bit. Aizawa-san wanted to sure this issue wasn't gonna show up in class or this training. If there were any major problems, he would have delayed this, and we would have focused on whoever was having trouble with it. But thankfully, minus a few hiccups as Aizawa-san mentioned, you all did very well."

After looking at his watch on his right hand, All Might stated, "Well it's about time to call this. We expected this to be over quickly as we both had other plans for tonight. I'll see you all in class soon."

Everyone then congratulated the new couple once more and said their goodbyes to All Might. As they started walking back to their dorms, Tooru began to lag behind the group which Izuku noticed quickly. The others were in a hot debate about the training and what it meant to see.

Midoriya slowed his pace until he was beside Hagakure and then asked, "What's up?"

"Just marveling at what I see in front of me," Tooru said in a cheery tone.

Izuku was confused but looked forward towards his friends. It took a second, but then he saw it. Momo and Mashirao were holding hands. This however spurred a thought in Midoriya's head and looked back at his girlfriend and asked, "So why did you bring up that question to Aizawa-sensei to expose them as a couple? That was purposeful wasn't it?"

Hagakure laughed softly before saying, "You caught me red handed. As of late, I wondered if those two were interested in each other. I wanted to confirm my suspicions since I had the opportunity. It turns out I was right!

Izuku scratched his head as he asked, "But what tipped you off? I thought they had been pretty subtle about it."

Tooru stopped in her tracks and then asked, "Wait you knew? Since when?"

"Well, I was there when Yaoyorozu-chan asked Ojiro-kun about the studying together once school resumed. Plus he's kept me mostly up to date about his interactions and feelings about her. Though nothing about what happened with the date yesterday," Izuku explained. He didn't want to be pushy about it, as curious as he was.

Hagakure sighed as she began walking again and said, "Man I wish I was you. I've wanted to know the juicy details for like two weeks. Yaoyorozu-chan, I think accidentally, let it slip she was teaching Ojiro-kun while we chatted once. She didn't act weird or anything, but I had my suspicions."

"Now you sound like Ashido-chan," Midoriya stated with a chuckle.

"I at least had the courtesy not to ask her up front. She would have been hounding her about it forever after like she did Uraraka-chan and I not so long ago," Tooru explained with a huff.

Once Izuku cleared his throat he said, "I was just joking."

"Izuku, you joking is odd enough as is," Hagakure said as Midoriya felt her poke his face.

"Hey you two lovebirds, we're about to head inside," Mashiaro called out. They were standing in front of their dorms at this point. He was no longer holding Momo's hand, which made sense to Izuku. They probably weren't ready to tell the entire class yet.

The couple in unison said, "Coming!"

* * *

Izuku was laid back in his bed looking at his phone. He was currently looking at footage from Ochako and Tenya's fight from Monday.

It was very early Thursday morning, and a lot had happened since the first team training.

On Tuesday, Aizawa had announced the upcoming U.A. Cultural Festival, which was to occur the first week of November. The class couldn't decide what program to do during homeroom and were forced to figure it out that evening. Midoriya couldn't attend the discussion as he and the other interns still had supplementary lessons to attend. Eventually, they came up with the idea of doing a live music performance with dancing. Izuku, that morning, had been intrigued by Mina's breakdancing so when he received the text from Tooru about the decision he was elated.

Midoriya still had other things on his mind as he watched his two friends fight. During his supplementary lesson the day before, Aizawa told him that Eri had requested to see him and Togata. And that was where Izuku was Wednesday afternoon. Both boys were quick to notice that Eri was still traumatized about her experience. Inspired by how Aoyama tried to cheer him up last week, Midoriya asked Aizawa if she could attend the upcoming Cultural Festival. The homeroom teacher said he'd discuss it with the principal and both Eri and Mirio were excited at the idea.

Later that night and into this morning, the class discussed the specifics of the live performance. The band would play club rock in the style of new rave and consist of five members: Jiro doing the vocals and playing bass, Kaminari as the lead guitarist, Tokoyami as the rhythm guitarist, Yaoyorozu on the synthesizer, and Bakugo playing the drums. The rest of the students were then either on the dance or staging team. Izuku and all his close friends, besides Momo, were on the dance team and he was pumped to learn beside them.

And while everything as of late was exciting, Midoriya was currently focusing on the training from Monday. Aizawa had emailed members of the HTAC with files containing the video footage yesterday during classes. Izuku was compelled to watch them, but regular and supplementary classes got in the way. He and the other interns came back to the dorm to see Tenya frantically try and organize everything, so that was another obstacle.

Midoriya was tired, but he wanted to watch the footage more than anything now. He was currently watching the fight from Uraraka's point of view. Their initial exchange had Ida try and rush his opponent. Ochako was able to retreat behind a corner and then used her quirk to make herself airborne to become out of reach. Tenya struggled to round the corner but then used his momentum to kick at the walls to jump from between them to grab his girlfriend and bring her to the ground.

This was the first moment Ida hesitated.

Tenya paused as he held Ochako to the ground and she used this moment to try and grab at her boyfriend to make him weightless, as he only had her by the shoulders. Ida backed off in time to not be touched but soon met a flurry of punches and kicks from Uraraka. He was backed into the wall as he blocked the attacks but gave no offense. Ochako then yelled at Tenya to fight back.

Izuku figured it was this point of the fight he heard when he was close.

Ida responded with a quirk boosted kick that sent her flying back. Uraraka gave a thumbs up but then retreated behind another corner. Midoriya heard her countdown before sticking her leg out up high, to be met with Ida's helmet.

Izuku cringed as he saw Tenya's helmet fly off. But before he could see his friend get back up and resume the fight, a knock came from the door. Midoriya groaned as he paused the video. It was so late, he wondered, who could want to see him at this hour?

Izuku opened the door to find Kyoka with a stern look.

"Morning," Jiro stated.

"Uh, good morning," Midoriya replied as he scratched the back of his head. He then asked, "Can I help you?

Kyoka proceeded to walk forward into the room, and Izuku sidestepped in shock. She took a look around before turning around and saying, "Was that you who convinced Koda-kun to act the way he did?"

As Izuku closed his door before he asked, "The way he acted?"

"You know. When Koda-kun and Kaminari-kun were trying to motivate me to go along with this live performance thing we're doing for the school festival," Jiro explained with crossing her arms.

Midoriya was drawing a blank. He remembered his girlfriend mentioning something along these lines at lunch on Wednesday but not the details. He then asked, "When was this?"

"Tuesday after school. I know you weren't there cause you were busy with supplementary lessons but there's no way Koda-kun did that without outside help," Kyoka stated as she took a step forward and pointed at her Izuku.

Midoriya took a second to think before saying, "What's wrong in believing Koda-kun spoke for himself and not from me giving him advice."

"You've given it to him before," Jiro bluntly said.

Oh right, that Izuku remembered. Not long into staying at the dorms Koji had asked for help with dealing with Kyoka being suddenly chatty. Midoriya wondered how Jiro knew though. Perhaps it was brought up in one Koda's conversations with her? Izuku then took a deep breath, "That time was just him wanting some help dealing with you trying to be friendly with him. I never told him to be more assertive or anything."

Kyoka stepped away before asking, "You're sure?"

"Positive," Midoriya answered with confidence.

Jiro sighed before letting her arms fall to the side. She then walked over to her host's window before explaining, "Sorry. It just seemed out of character for Koda-kun. Sure he's more talkative now than ever before, but he never starts conversations or asks questions. It's always me and Kaminari-kun driving the conversation and Koda-kun just following the motions. Which is fine, I mean as you told me on the summer trip, I shouldn't rush things with him. But then out of the blue, he tries to back up Kaminari-kun when trying to convince me to do the live performance. It just felt like you or that dunce had pushed him outside his comfort zone. But Kaminari-kun said he never spoke to Koda-kun about it, so I figured it had to be you Midoriya-kun."

The last sentence felt off to Izuku. He then asked, "Is everything okay with Koda-kun?"

Kyoka pulled on one of her jacks as she responded with, "He's been avoiding me since that day. I haven't tried to be upfront with Koda-kun about it, but the whole situation is getting on my nerves. It just feels like all that time we spent talking was for naught."

Upon hearing this, Midoriya started to ponder. Perhaps Koda felt like he went too far. But he still didn't know what the large teen even said. Maybe it was time to talk to Koji again and see what was up, though discreetly. Kyoka was already on edge here, and it seemed ironic to Izuku. Back at the school summer training camp, Jiro seemed annoyed her tactics to "help" Koda wasn't working, and now she was afraid of pushing him too much. Guess that means she's just grown to understand him better since then, Midoriya figured.

Kyoka then asked, "What are you plotting?"

Izuku was quick to raise his hands in defense as he explained, "I think what would be for the best. I still stand by that he needs time. Whatever he said to you sounds quite bold, so he's probably still coming to terms with it is all. Give him a week or two, and I bet he'll be back to normal."

"I hate waiting but, you're probably right," Jiro stated as her shoulders sagged slightly. She then looked up at Midoriya and said, "Sorry I kind of barged in here. I let my feelings get the better of me, and I'm better than this normally."

Midoriya shook his head as he stated, "It's fine Jiro-chan. I bet all this stuff having to do with the school festival has been stressful on you. And there's nothing wrong getting overworked about worrying about a friend. It just shows how good a person you are."

Kyoka cracked a smile as she said, "Hagakure-chan chose right when she asked you out."

Again with the praise, Izuku thought as he felt a blush start to form on his face. As he thought of how to respond, a thought crossed his mind. Midoriya then asked, "Hey, how did you know I would be up right now? I mean, yeah, we stayed up late to figure out our parts for the live performance, but it's been half an hour since we called it a night."

"Hagakure-chan has mentioned you stay up late either studying or on your phone," Jiro explained as she walked past Midoriya. She then opened the door and looked back, "And it looks like she was right. Anyways, thanks for the chat but it's getting late. You got dance lessons tomorrow with Ashido-chan, and I have to wrangle in my ragtag team of musicians. Night."

Izuku didn't even have time to respond before Kyoka shut his door. I guess I need to talk to Koji soon, he thought. Midoriya then took out his phone. The video was still paused, and the urge to press play was high. He then looked over at the time, nearing 2 am. As much as Izuku wanted to watch the rest of the footage, he needed to get some sleep.

After turning off his light and setting his alarm, Midoriya brainstormed ideas of what to discuss with Koda until sleep claimed him.

* * *

Hagakure asked, "You ready for some dancing today?"

"Sure, just have to get through the entirety of school today first Tooru," Midoriya responded with a tired tone.

It was Friday morning, and homeroom hadn't started yet.

Tooru was giddy about the training after school that was about to begin. Tenya and Momo decided that, after dinner each day, 1A would work on the live performance. The principal announced earlier in the week that until the festival, Saturday would be an off day with no school, as to give the students guaranteed time to work on their programs. Sunday would be a rest day; Momo even said she would hold off her morning lessons for now. Izuku wondered though if she was still going to get Mashirao private lessons though.

The two continued to chat as more students arrived in the classroom. Once Aizawa came, Hagakure returned to her seat, as did the rest of the students who were talking, and homeroom began. A few minutes however before the end of the class, the teacher said, "Well that's all I have to say for today. Ida-san you take it from here."

The class president stood as he asked, "We received permission to do it?"

"Yes. Next Sunday will be the time. So make your announcement and be done with it before class ends," Eraserhead responded. He then proceeded to lean against the whiteboard behind him and closed his eyes.

Tenya grinned and got up, and Momo was quick to follow. Once at the front of the classroom, he said, "Good morning everyone. We both have been working behind the scenes sometime now to set up something entertaining I think most of you would enjoy."

The vice president then spoke up and said, "Well actually Sato-kun was the one who came up with the idea, to begin with. Shouldn't he tell everybody."

Ida nodded before saying, "Great idea! Sato-kun, why not give everyone the news?"

Sato nodded before standing up and explaining, "As you already know we don't exactly have the best impression to other classes in our school. I'm happy we get the chance to share our talents and express our passion at the upcoming school festival, but for some time I've been thinking of a way we could specifically bond with class 1B."

There were a few murmurs upon hearing this. Izuku saw Mashirao fidget at this. It had to be about Neito, he figured.

"Traditionally both class A and B have always been highly competitive with one another as they are both in the hero course. So far that hasn't changed during the last term or the current one. But I think we can do better. I want us to be more like friendly rivals than vengeful opponents," Rikido stated as he started to walk to the front of the classroom.

"At the start of the term, I got in contact with the class president of 1B and we discussed ideas of what to do for us to better bond with each other. We eventually came up with the idea that every once in a while we should do something social together. And this Sunday we wanna try and make this work," Sato explained.

Bakugo then spoke up and said, "And what if we don't wanna be a part of this?"

Ida sighed before saying, "We haven't even told you what it is yet."

"Just answer the question," Katsuki replied with a scowl.

"We're not forcing you to go to this. Though I highly recommend you at least give it a try," Momo said with confidence in her voice at the last statement.

Kaminari then asked, "So what is it? Like a movie night? Or we all going to a big buffet to pig out? Nothing says getting to know someone than stuffing your face."

Ida cleared his throat before saying, "Ideas we might consider for the future, but for now, we have something else in mind."

Sato raised an arm with a fist as he said, "Yeah this first event we're gonna do some karaoke!"

The class response to hearing this was mostly positive. The only real objections Izuku could see was Katsuki groaning, Fumikage looking not amused, and Koji with a spooked look on his face. He was interested in the prospect though from the start. While Midoriya knew he would never sing karaoke, he was intrigued to see others in his class would do. However, the sudden ring of the bell brought such thinking to a close. Izuku needed to focus on the rest of the day for now.

* * *

Mineta groaned as he said, "Today was tougher than I thought it would be."

"Well, you did vote in favor of dancing, so you got what you wanted," Kaminari stated. He then sighed before saying, "I thought you were gonna back me up with my maid cafe vote dude, what gives?"

"You have to think outside the box man. I mean sure my first thought was a titty bar but I mean that's not feasible. And while your idea is great I thought of something more practical," Minoru responded.

Denki then asked, "Alright what you got planned in that little noggin of yours?"

"Two words," Mineta replied. He then said slowly, "Wardrobe malfunction."

"Huh, clever," Kaminari said with intrigue.

Midoriya sighed, this wasn't what he wanted to hear right now.

It was late Friday night. The first day of training for the live performance was over.

Izuku and some of the guys were currently showering. To his right were Minoru and Denki chatting it up. On the right was Yuga, who had been quiet minus his initial greeting. Midoriya tried to drown out Mineta's conversation by lathering his head soap, though it helped little. While his short friend had been getting better with girls when around them he was still up to his usual self when just with the guys, especially Kaminari.

"Still I wish I could have been part of the band," Minoru stated with a pout.

Denki chuckled as he said, "Well no offense dude but you either can't reach the instrument, or it's too big for you."

Mineta sighed as he said, "Yeah and my singing is no good."

"Well you were mostly just yelling nonsense," Aoyama stated.

"You don't have to rub it in," Minoru replied with an annoyed growl.

"Pardon. Just telling the truth," Yuga stated in a sigh.

"Well regardless, I can't wait for the Karaoke next Sunday! I can't see myself singing at it, but it sounds like a lot of fun," Kaminari stated with glee.

Mineta then said, "I'm going to try and sing at least one song. It can't be as bad as last time."

Midoriya felt compelled to step in as he thought no one needed to suffer such a thing again as he said, "Maybe you can ask Jiro-chan for advice. If you're genuine, she'll at least give you a pointer or two I think."

Minrou held back a laugh as he said, "No offense Midoriya-kun but I think out of all of the girls in the class she hates me the most. That would never work."

"It wouldn't hurt to try," Izuku stated.

There were a few moments of silence before Mineta turned off his showerhead. As he exited his stall, he said, "I'll think about it."

Kaminari was quick to finish and catch up to his friend.

" _Paix et tranquillité_ ," Aoyama stated once the two exited the room.

Midoriya then asked, "Say what?"

"It means peace and tranquility. Those two can be quite loud sometimes. A shower should be a place to relax and wash off a day's worries and stress. Not such crude talk as those two often converse in," Yuga answered with disgust in his voice.

The two then continued their showers in silence. As Izuku continued to wash, he felt short bursts of pain in his legs. Before dinner, he had another lesson with All Might. Their first meeting since the raid on Overhaul's base of operations. Toshinori first asked his pupil to him in the teacher's lounge for some tea. Once they had caught up, All Might asked for a change in scenery. The two then went into the forest behind U.A. to train. The school's gyms were now hosting to all the students preparing for the festival, so training there in secrecy wasn't an option.

Earlier, Yagi asked Midoriya what he felt he had lacked in his fights during the raid. The boy answered that he wasn't able to counter the long-range attacks Chisaki was barraging him with. All Might then asked to see Full Cowl 20% as an attack. Izuku did as told and was surprised to find that his punch was able to cause damage to his surroundings, nothing major, but enough. Toshinori noted that until now his student had only been using this new level defensively to increase his speed and endurance. He then revealed that even at 15%, Midoriya should be able to use his attacks that cause a wave of wind pressure. All he needed to do now was continue fine-tuning his control of the higher power and get used to using his more fragile parts, like fingers, to make full use of these long-range attacks.

Izuku sighed then turned off the water to the shower and walked out of his stall to dry off. He was taking quite a while to get dressed, however. His current thoughts were focused on the "other" training he wanted to do. Ever since Sunday, Midoriya had pondered how he was going to have more opportunities outside of dates to practice kissing with Hagakure as well as learn how her hair feels enough to start cutting it on his own. The latter he initially wanted to be a surprise but after thinking it over it wasn't really feasible as he would need to feel out her hair enough times. Izuku's main issue now was trying to convey his wanted to do this without sounding like a pervert.

Suddenly Aoyama's face was in front of Midroiya's, and he stated, "You're thinking about Hagakure-chan."

Izuku almost fell off the bench he was sitting on. He had his boxers and shirt on but had been working on getting his shorts on when this occurred. Yuga was standing in front of him wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. Midoriya finished putting on his shorts and then took a few breaths before asking, "What makes you say that?"

"Oh you and Uraraka-chan are a cinch to read when it involves the one they love," Aoyama said while giving an odd chuckle. Once he finished, he continued explanation with, "During our first term final exam Uraraka-chan and I were in quite a pickle against Thirteen-sensei. She was acting out of her element and had this particular look on her face. The same you have now."

Midoriya then asked, "And how did you know for sure she was thinking about Ida-kun."

Yuga replied, "Well at the time we were holding on to dear life on some railing so as not to be sucked into Thirteen-sensei's quirk." He then put a hand over his mouth to hold in a laugh as he said, "That's when I asked her if Ida-kun was on her mind. She then proceeded to grab her cheeks in embarrassment and let go of the railing."

Izuku wondered, why was he focusing on Ochako's face during a time like that?

Aoyama then stated, "Anyways, you two are very easy to read when it comes to love. So am I right or what?"

Midoriya sighed and nodded.

" _Je le savais!_ My observation skills are unmatched," Yuga proclaimed with a dazzling grin. He then looked to his friend asked, "So why are you thinking of her? You look so concerned my friend. What has happened? You can tell me; I can keep a secret!"

Izuku shook his head as he said, "Nothing's wrong. I'm just trying to set up something up with her is all."

"Ah! So you need advice! I'll be happy to help _ami_ ," Aoyama proclaimed while striking a pose.

"Uh-," was all Izuku could say before being interrupted by his flashy friend.

"Oh right, sorry. I have a bad habit of slipping in French at times, but it's such a beautiful language it's hard to ignore. Anyways, _ami_ means friend. But lay it on me Midoriya-kun, what are you trying to set up?"

Midoriya cleared his throat before replying with, "Well I'm trying to figure out a way for me and Tooru to have private time outside the dates we can have on Sunday." He didn't want to have to go into any more detail then he had too.

Aoyama nodded as he said, "Ah I get it. Alone time to do the kiss of my people."

"How did you guess...you know what nevermind," Izuku said as he sat up and grabbed his clothes. This was too awkward to talk about as they only became friends last week.

"The roof," Yuga said with a serious tone.

Midoriya stopped in his tracks and turned around to ask, "What?"

"Why not try the roof of the dorms? No one goes up there. It should give you plenty of privacy to make out with your girlfriend in peace." Aoyama answered with a smirk.

The idea sounded plausible in Izuku's head. He then said, "Thanks Aoyama-kun. I'll give it some thought."

" _Je vous en prie._ I'm happy to help." Yuga stated with a bow.

* * *

Izuku leaned against the railing of the roof and sighed loudly.

It had been a long Saturday.

Yesterday's dance lessons with Ashido went along with no problem. However, she had ramped it up quite a bit today, and Midoriya was struggling to keep up.

Also, Eri made a surprise visit. Izuku was happy to hear that her coming to the festival had been approved. Though it was decided it would be best for her to come at least once before the event to ease the change in environment as to not over stress her. Togata and Midoriya spent the early afternoon showing her around. They caught glimpses of 1B practicing a very odd play, Nejire in a dress as she prepared for a beauty pageant, and one of Mei's robot projects catching fire. Eri was unsure how to feel about everything, but she had been moved by everyone's hard work. She wanted to see how it was going to turn out. This excited both Izuku and Mirio as it was some progress at least.

Midoriya groaned. The night air was starting to become chilly. He was kicking himself that he didn't bring a jacket.

Suddenly the door to the roof opened.

It was Hagakure. She was wearing a yellow jacket with jeans. As Tooru she approached her boyfriend, she pulled the hoodie over her head. She then asked, "Meet me on the roof at ten? And no response to me asking why? Did something serious happen?"

Izuku shook his head as he stated, "Nah I just wanted this to be a surprise."

Intrigued, Tooru leaned on the railing next to him and asked, "Okay then, what do you have for me Izuku?"

"I want to cut your hair from now on," Midoriya answered in a quick burst of words.

Hagakure stayed quiet for a few seconds before asking, "So is that why you came to my place last Sunday?"

"I mean I wasn't sure if it was feasible or not until I saw your mom cut your hair. Even then I wanted to ask her for advice for committing to the idea," Midoriya replied with confidence. He then felt his girlfriend put an arm around his left arm.

"This such an odd surprise but it's so you," Tooru chuckled. After calming down, she said, "But um, how are you gonna get used to cut my hair? My mom's advice couldn't have been enough to make you an expert."

Izuku pulled on his collar before responding with, "Uh, well." He paused for a moment then said, "I'm gonna need to start to… to get a f-feel for your hair for this to work. M-Multiple times. To best gauge how and when to cut it."

Hagakure held back a snicker as she asked, "You realize what you made it sound like right?"

Midoriya's head sunk a bit upon hearing this. He had planned this scenario many times and in his head but he ended up blurting it out. Izuku then suddenly felt his hands being grabbed and placed into his girlfriend's hoodie.

"I know you mean well, so it's okay," Tooru stated in a kind voice.

Hagakure's hair felt so much smoother than Midoriya remembered. Had she been following his advice to use conditioner more often?

"So um I thought we could also do something on top of these s-sessions too," Izuku asked in a nervous tone.

Curious, Tooru stated, "Go on."

Midoriya exhaled and then suggested with confidence, "We could practice kissing up here. You know, so it's not exclusive to our dates."

"An interesting proposition," Hagakure said. She then asked in a suggestive voice, "Why not do both at the same time right now?"

"S-sure," Izuku answered as his courage started to wavier. He thought he could get familiar with her hair first, but he couldn't say no to such a request from Tooru.

Midoriya cupped Hagakure's head from just above her neck as he brought her towards a kiss.

Suddenly the door to the roof opened and out stepped Ida and Uraraka.

There was silence as each couple stared at each other.

Eventually, Tenya spoke up and said, "Indecent behavior while on school grounds is strictly-."

Ochako had elbowed her boyfriend on the side of his chest. She then said, "We were about to do the same 'indecent' things dummy. Don't try and hide it."

Tooru pulled away from Izuku as she asked, "Wait you guys come up here to make out?"

"For about a month," Ida said as he rubbed his side. He then said, "And it's worked pretty well so far. Only Aoyama-kun has found out so far, as he walked in on us last week."

Midoriya held in a groan. Aoyama's advice failed to mention that his other friends were also using the space for some private time. And it was the source of his idea in the first place. A conversation for later, Izuku told himself.

"Well, we were here first tonight! Come back in a few minutes," Tooru said as she hugged her boyfriend.

Ochako pulled Tenya forward as she proclaimed, "We came up with the idea first! You two can wait downstairs until we are done."

As the girls bickered, Ida and Midoriya looked at one another and then smirked. No way were they going to step in between these two. It wasn't a winnable fight for the guys.

* * *

 **Yeesh. Late again. Very late...**

 **Writer's block and vast changes were again the culprits. I'm better than this, and you all deserve better.**

 **I'm going to try some new writing and brainstorming practices to prevent more delays in the future cause this is depressing to post stuff so late.**

 **Anyways, enough being a downer, let's get into the nitty-gritty.**

 **Completely threw out the first scene and it has been moved to chapter 26. I thought to focus on the "couples having to fight their loved one" plot out of the way first cause that would have been meh to drag out. Plus it would serve as a nice warm-up for future fighting in the team training coming up. Again the fights were short here but the next chapter it will be a bit more lengthy.**

 **So the new ship confirmation I wanted to be different than the other two, and I thought doing this training exercise would be a neat way to do it. I am still trying to figure out how I want the new couple to tell 1A about them but I can say it won't take as long as the others. And about the ship itself, I don't ship it personally (it's even more crackship** **than the IzuTooru), but it fit the story I wanted to craft. The idea was for the main six to fall in love with someone in the group since the start. Surprisingly, two doujin involving these two already in existence. I was told this from discord friends when I brought up this pairing during a writing discussion. Weird. Anywho this brings the ship count in this fic to three, with two more to go but will be much more minor.**

 **Speaking of those other ships, I finally got to use Jiro again. Been waiting for the school festival to have a reason for her in the story once more. We'll see Koda next chapter concerning the development brought up in this one.**

 **And yes, Sato and Kendo's plan is to have karaoke! This idea was spawned during spring break earlier this year. I was having trouble sleeping one night in a tent cause of a windstorm, so I tried to brainstorm ideas for the fic as a way to fall asleep. I had already figured I wanted Sato and Kendo to run an activity together between the classes, just no idea what. It will take up the latter half of the next chapter as I plan to go all out with it. And no I won't be doing any lyrics or anything, but expect a reference here or there. The event more about character interactions and having some fun with it than the actual singing anyways. Thank the stars to Hori for the recent arc involving 1B as it's getting a lot more ammo to work with here than I originally envisioned many months ago.**

 **The only difference here with Izuku's meeting with All Might post-Overhaul arc is that he already had a good grasp about controlling the percentage of OFA. Sure it was just a summary, but I thought I might as well point that out. Again the point is to better transition his power jumps than out of nowhere as the manga has done thus far.**

 **And another minor character appears, Aoyama! I was glad he finally got some screen time at the start of this arc and even became friends with Midoriya. I felt I could use him as someone for Izuku to get advice from for once, cause as of late it's mostly been Izuku that's been dishing that out. Of course, it didn't work out as expected, but Yuga tried!**

 **Before I go wanna announce that I will now have a spot editor,** **Cleric of Nayru. They originally helped spot edit chapter 23, but after helping with this chapter (cause holy shit did the first scene need it cause it was rough) I asked if they wanted to make this official. This should lessen (eventually) the burden on Night Foilage as she heavy edits my chapters and fewer errors for you all have to experience.**

 **Welp, for sure this time, the next chapter will release on November 1st. I don't want to do you all wrong a third time in a row. : /**


	26. Work and Play

Chapter 26: Work and Play

Izuku re-fastened his face mask. It was slightly ajar after doing some warm-up stretches.

Mashirao then walked out of the bathroom and asked, "You guys ready to go?"

"Of course! Let's make the best of today out there," Tenya said with a thumbs up. He was currently suited up but without a helmet on, which he held in his right hand.

As the three made their way out of the boy's locker room, Ida asked, "So did you go on another date with Yaoyorozu-chan yesterday?"

Ojiro groaned before asking, "Was it that obvious again?"

"My apologies. I didn't mean to pry. I only figured that was the case cause when I texted her yesterday night about some details pertaining to this Saturday and she didn't respond until quite late," Tenya explained.

Mashirao sighed in relief before saying, "That makes sense I guess."

Izuku then asked, "Where did you go with her this time?"

"A few thrift shops and then dinner at a food truck. It's weird, but it was all Momo's choice," Ojiro answered.

Midoriya was then reminded of Yaoyorozu's fascination with the Donki store that they used to buy disguises so as not to be recognized when they rescued Bakugo during the summer.

"Yaoyorozu-chan seems to have had a sheltered upbringing. All these are new experiences to her and what best way to spend it than with her new boyfriend," Tenya explained.

"Yeah I figured as much, but I was hoping to take her somewhere nice at least once. Though I'm pretty limited on yen for obvious reasons," Mashiro stated as he scratched the back of his head. He sighed, "Ida-kun did you have a sheltered upbringing as well?"

Ida crossed his arms as he thought for a few moments. He then responded with, "Sorta. I mean I was raised in high-class surroundings but from what I've seen, not to the level of Yaoyorozu-chan. Plus my brother Tensei made sure to have me do things outside my demographic when I was younger."

Ojiro then said, "I see. I was just worried she might be taking me to these places only cause it's cheap. But even considering that I don't have much to work with."

"Is there a reason you have dates each weekend with her? Tooru and I decided on going out monthly," Midoriya stated.

Mashirao was quick to answer, "We talked about it, and we wanna see if this is gonna work or not. And the best way she thought was to have a bunch of dates to gauge how things are between us in the quickest way possible."

"There's nothing wrong with taking things slow," Izuku said speaking from experience.

"Yeah but Momo was adamant to speed things along, so I went with it," Ojiro replied as the trio rounded a corner.

Ida then stated, "That's odd for Yaoyorozu-chan to act that way. She's usually quite slow and cautious concerning most things."

Midoriya wondered if this had to do with Yaoyorozu's past with boys trying to take advantage of her, as her head butler had mentioned months ago. Did she wants to confirm that her feelings were more than just a crush or if Ojiro was genuine in his interest? Izuku figured Momo would have known Mashirao long enough by now to know he wasn't a jerk. Then another thought came. Maybe she was just excited to date someone finally and outside the watchful eye of her mother. Perhaps this was the reason.

Either way, Midoriya was glad things were going well between the two. When he finally watched the battle between the couple it left him concerned. Their fight had been quite long, and it looked to have frustrated Ojiro. Aizawa was right that most of their scuffle had them not committing to end it. At first, Izuku thought they were testing each other's resolve, but it became apparent that neither wanted to hurt one another. Finally, Momo had enough and produced a cannon and fired upon Mashirao. When asked later by Midoriya, he found out she had used it at a lower power setting since it was against a person. However, this allowed Ojiro to catch and use its momentum to swing it back at Yaoyorozu and destroy her cannon. The two then went into an all-out brawl with Momo summoning her bo staff to do battle. The range the weapon gave her was able to push Mashirao back, but the match was called before a winner was decided. He seemed frustrated at this and Izuku hoped but whatever was bothering his tailed friend had been resolved already it seemed.

"Regardless, I'm gonna have to come up with something about my money situation," Ojiro said.

"Might I suggest stuff like maybe walks on the park or beach and bringing some prepared meals for food. It's what Ochako and I decided to do as she doesn't want me spending money on our dates. And if you need any help cooking something up, just ask! I'd be happy to help," Tenya said with a bright smile.

Mashirao smirked as he replied, "Yeah I think I'll have to take you up on that offer."

Their conversation got Izuku to think about his own financial situation. He had enough for about one more date he figured. Since they had started dating, they always split the bill on her request, which he agreed with. The boy wondered if he should go along with asking his mother for money or implement something along the lines of Ojiro's plan. Either way, he would need to figure something out by next weekend. Midoriya wanted to go on a date then and not in the final week of October as it would be too close to the festival. He figured they might be exhausted from all the work going into perfecting their live performance.

At this point, the trio arrived at their destination.

Ground Beta.

It was Monday night, so the members of TAC were about to train once more. Due to preparing for the cultural festival, they had to meet later than usual, and this would have to continue for another few weeks.

"Evening boys," All Might stated as the trio approached. As they all then greeted their heroics teacher, Midoriya looked behind his mentor to see Aizawa was a distance away looking at a sheet of paper.

The former pro hero then said, "Once the girls are here we'll get started."

Suddenly though, Izuku felt a tackle hug from behind and nearly toppled over.

"Oh, we're already here sensei," Tooru said with glee.

Midoriya looked down to see no gloves wrapped around his chest. She must have taken them off to sneak up without being noticed he figured. Izuku then heard footsteps behind himself.

"Hagakure-chan, was it essential to run ahead? All you had to do was take off your gloves if you wanted to catch him off guard," Ochako said while huffing.

Momo then spoke up and said, "Well we didn't have to give chase you know Uraraka-chan. I just followed you after you started running after her."

"Hagakure-san you can squeeze your boyfriend to pieces another time. Now is the time for work not play," Aizawa said from afar in an irritated tone.

"Sorry sensei," Tooru said as she took her gloves out of her pockets and proceeded to put them on.

Eraserhead folded his paper and put it in his pocket as All Might said, "Well since we're all here now let's get to our destination for tonight."

Suddenly the gate to Ground Beta opened, and Aizawa pointed for everyone to follow. They walked for a few minutes but then stopped between two office buildings that were across the street from one another.

"These will be where you all will be training today," Eraserhead stated while pointing to both structures. He then said, "These two office buildings are identical in height and have ten floors."

"We'll be splitting you into two groups of three," All Might said while holding up the corresponding numbers with his fingers.

"As was mentioned in our initial meeting two weeks ago, you all have experienced mostly single partner exercises, so today we will slightly bump up that trend," the homeroom teacher said as he approached his students. He then stated, "The first team will consist of Ida-san, Ojiro-san, and Uraraka-san. The remaining will be on the other team."

The students then separated to their two groups, but before they could even talk to one another, Eraserhead spoke up once more and said, "Each team will start by riding the elevator to top floor of their assigned buildings. You will then be given a few minutes to come up with a plan before we announce the start of the exercise."

"The objective will be simple. Travel down your designated building and battle the opposing team whenever you meet them. Note that we will be turning off the elevators once you have reached the top floor. And like with last week, fight until you are told to stand down but also keep damage to your surroundings to a minimum," All Might explained.

"Beyond that, the point of the training will become clear once it concludes," Aizawa stated as he reached into his pocket. He then pulled out communicators and handed them to everyone.

As Tooru received hers, she asked, "Does that mean I can go all out again?"

"Indeed. Unless otherwise stated, it's best that you are fully invisible while doing this extra lessons," Eraserhead replied before returning to All Might's side.

Hagakure giggled happily as she pocketed her gloves.

Aizawa then pointed to his left as he said, "Ida-san your team will be stationed here." He then pointed to his right as he stated, "And the opposing team here."

"Good luck everyone," All Might stated with a grin and thumbs up.

Midoriya and his two teammates made their way to the right.

Within seconds Tooru asked, "I wonder which team can run down ten flights of stairs the fastest?"

Momo shook her head as she said, "That's probably not the best method. I think our teachers want us to get downstairs in a different way."

"Yeah, there has to be a faster method. I feel both teams would reach the bottom floor at around the same time if we both took the stairs. Then we would end up fighting in the streets," Izuku explained while crossing his arms.

"Making us trek downstairs would be pointless if so," Yaoyorozu stated as the trio entered their assigned building.

The first room entered was large and spacious. There was a receptionist desk, a few hallways behind it which lead to some administrative offices judging by some signs, a security room to the right, and a few support pillars here and there.

'So they want us to use our quirks to get down faster," Hagakure said in a curious tone. She then asked, "But how are we going to do that?"

"I might have an idea," Izuku said as he entered the security room. He then said, "Help me find some keys."

It took her a moment, but Momo eyes lit up as she said, "Ah I see your plan." Then her face turned to concern as she asked, "But wouldn't this be against the rules?"

"They just said it would be deactivated. Nothing about not using the elevator shaft," Midoriya explained as he started looking through some drawers.

Izuku saw objects moving by a nearby cabinet as he heard Tooru say, "You want us to slide down the elevator cables?"

The class vice president nodded as she answered, "It could work, but we need access to the elevator drop key to manually open the doors since it will be shut off. Sometimes it's just a regular key and others it's a rod. Security should have a keyring with everything to the building."

The trio then spent a few minutes looking through two rooms, the front being an office and the back being storage. Nothing was locked, but there were no keys in sight.

Hagakure groaned as she said, "I guess these buildings aren't hundred percent authentic. I'm sure this security room is just for show since these facilities are just used for training purposes."

Midoriya sighed as he said, "I'm sure they exist, but I bet they are in the underground monitor room that our teachers are stationed at."

"And I doubt we are allowed down there during the exercise," Momo stated.

"I forgot about that floor. That explains why weren't given body cameras this time," Tooru said.

Izuku looked up to his left. A camera was looking right at him. He figured Eraserhead and All Might had already arrived at the monitor room. The teachers hadn't said anything about Izuku's team wasting time searching for the keys, so it further cemented the fact in his mind that they needed to find an alternate route downstairs.

"I think we can still make this work. Follow me," the vice president said as she left the security room.

Izuku then felt Tooru's hand grab his as she said, "Let's see what she has in mind."

The couple followed Momo to the elevator, where she was already standing inside and holding the door for them. Once inside, Midoriya noticed the ten button light up on its own. Tooru must have pressed it, he thought.

Once the elevator door closed and the team started to rise, Yaoyorozu stated, "It's a bit of a long shot, but I think I can make a key of my own with my quirk if I'm careful."

Curious, Midoriya asked, "How would that work?"

"Normally when I create an object, it's ready to go as it exits my skin. This is so it can be used immediately for combat purposes. But I can delay it's formation somewhat," Momo explained with excitement in her voice.

Izuku figured she liked explaining her quirk in detail. He then asked, "So I figure you want to make an iron mold they would settle into the keyhole's shape?"

The class vice president responded with, "In theory, yeah. Though I haven't tried it before to this extent."

"Makes sense. Yaoyorozu-chan doesn't seem like the type to break into things," Tooru giggled.

Momo scratched the back of her head in confusion at the comment.

The elevator stopped, and the team walked out before the door closed behind them. The sound of the elevator descending followed.

Izuku sighed in relief. If the elevator car had stayed on their floor then descending would have been much harder for them to do quickly. He then asked, "Yaoyorozu-chan could you try and make the key and open the doors now? I wanna know that we can do this before we go with a plan that might fail."

Yaoyorozu cocked an eyebrow at him, "Shouldn't we wait until we get the go-ahead to start descending?"

"We won't be heading down until the designated time. But I wanna see if this will work and if so we can get a head start,"

Momo turned around and looked at the small hole on the door. She sighed and popped her fingers as she said, "Looks like it needs it's the rod kind, so this will be a bit harder than I thought. Luckily the key to open the door from the inside looks to only need a normal key so that should be easier. I'm hoping the key to open the top hatch is just as simple."

Yaoyorozu then waited a moment before clicking the button to call for the elevator.

No response. The button didn't even light up.

Hagakure then asked, "What was that for?"

"Just making sure the power is off. The doors will stay closed even if I use the key unless the power is off. I was just making sure of that," Momo answered before lifting her right hand and making a grey blob appear on her index finger. She then placed it inside the small circular hole on the elevator door. A few moments passed before a click was heard.

Izuku pumped a fist as he said, "That's the locking mechanism. It worked!" He then let go of Tooru's hand and walked forward to and opened the door.

Midoriya heard Hagakure beside him say, "That's a long way down. I can't even see anything."

"I got that covered," the class vice president said as she made a flashlight and batteries from her left shoulder.

As Momo started to put the batteries into the flashlight, Tooru asked, "So how are we just gonna slide down the elevator wires to the bottom?"

Izuku asked, "Is there are a problem?"

"Do we have the equipment to do that? My suit offers some protection, but I think it's too thin to take that much friction,"

Yaoyorozu stepped forward and handed the flashlight towards Hagakure's voice as she said, "Then ride on Midoriya's back. He has more than enough protection to take it. We need someone to hold the flashlight as we descend anyways."

Tooru responded with, "But you have no protection as well Yaoyorozu-chan."

"Give me a second. I got an idea," Momo replied as she reached behind her and pulled out an encyclopedia that hanged off her belt. She then explained, "I just need to refresh myself on certain materials, and I should be able to make something lightweight around my hand and legs that should be able to take the friction no sweat."

As Yaoyorozu flipped through various pages of her massive book, Midoriya said, "So here is the game plan."

Unburdened by her work, Momo stated, "We can't rule out the others are going to think up of a method to get down the stairs faster too."

"Hopefully our plan is better," Tooru said in a hopeful tone.

"Yeah. I want to avoid us meeting in the street if we can,"

The class vice president looked up from her encyclopedia as she asked, "To hinder Ida-kun right?"

"Exactly. His quirk is going to be the biggest issue I think. Given enough room, he can obtain high enough speeds that we won't be able to counter. Plus indoors he runs into the issue of turning around and stopping,"

Hagakure then suggested, "So do we wanna confront them in the first-floor lobby of their building? Whatever method they are gonna use they are gonna have to exit from there."

Izuku nodded as he answered, "Yeah that sounds like our best option. An ambush there would work really well."

Momo closed her book and placed it back behind her before saying, "I suggest we all target a specific person first, incapacitate them, and then move on to our next target."

"I say we target Uraraka-chan first," Tooru blurted out. She then said, "I mean if she touches you it's game over for that individual."

"I agree," Yaoyorozu stated as she pulled three handcuffs from her upper chest. She then gave one to Midoriya and Hagakure as she said, "If we can restrict her hands then she should be easy to deal with after that. From there I think Ojiro-kun should be our next objective, leaving Ida-kun for last."

Midoriya crossed his arms before saying, "We should also expect them to do the same to us. The question is who will they target."

"Well, definitely not me," Hagakure stated with glee.

Momo sighed before saying, "Yeah if anybody it's most likely going to be me or you, Midoriya-kun, that they go after first."

Izuku then stated, "Once we know whoever they are going to target first we should defend that person then counter-attack and go after Uraraka-chan first. But our priority should be to get to their building first for the element of surprise."

"Just to be sure, I'll run ahead and make sure they aren't ready to ambush us and relay that the coast is clear," Tooru stated.

The vice class president then asked, "Um, how are you gonna be discreet about telling us if you're wearing the communicator?"

"No problem at all. I'll hold on to it my fist and whisper into it when I need to talk," Hagakure replied.

Momo brought up a hand to her chin as she said, "Ah, that should work then."

"Hello, students!"

It was All Might's voice from the communicator.

"Guess we're out of time. Just give me a moment to make the clothing I'll need," Yaoyorozu stated. She then closed her eyes but maintained a face of concentration.

The former pro hero's voice rang through his ear once more and stated, "In a few seconds, tonight's training shall begin. Remember to keep fighting until we say the exercise is over and try not to go overboard with your quirks."

Suddenly Momo's hands and legs were quickly covered with a thick black material. She then gave a thumbs up.

All Might then cleared his throat before saying, "And we start in 3...2...1...GO!"

Izuku immediately felt Tooru jump on his back. She then proclaimed while turning on the flashlight, "And we're off! Onward my steed!"

Midoriya sighed as he pulled his mask over his head and jumped on the elevator cable first. He then loosened his grip and let himself descend at a moderate pace. If Izuku went too fast, it would be too painful and possibly damage his suit. He then felt a small jolt. Momo had just jumped and was now going down as well.

In no time, they had reached the top of the elevator. Hagakure shined the flashlight downward during the final descent, and Midoriya slowed down so as not to land too hard. Yaoyorozu was quick to follow, and with the help of the light, they quickly found the keyhole.

"Sweet, it's just a normal keyhole," Tooru stated with enthusiasm in her tone.

Momo made a key much quicker this time and opened it. She dropped first, and Izuku followed.

Hagakure then shouted, "Catch me!"

Midoriya was quick to do so, only being able to tell her position via the flashlight she was holding. He then said, "That was unnecessary."

"Oh come on. It's our first training exercise working together! I'm just so excited," Tooru said as her boyfriend let her down.

"I got the door unlocked. Go scout ahead Hagakure-chan," Momo stated as she opened the door.

The invisible girl handed Izuku the flashlight before saying, "Stay tuned to your communicators then for my report."

Yaoyorozu then started to take off her created clothing. Once she was finished, she and Midoriya walked outside and discarded their items behind a pillar.

Momo then asked, "She's enjoying this huh?"

"Well, Tooru was right. We have never worked together during school. Kind of feels odd that we haven't," Izuku answered as he and the vice president made their way to the building's front entrance.

"Uh guys we got a problem," Tooru's voice came over the communicator.

Midoriya then asked, "What are they already there."

"No they're floating towards our building. Ida-kun is holding the others as they make there way here. It looks like they are heading for the upper floors," Tooru responded.

"They're trying to ambush us from behind. Hagakure-chan, head back we need to be ready for them," Momo said with a stern voice.

Tooru replied with, "Roger."

Izuku then said, "We don't have much time to come up with a new plan."

"We will think of something, don't worry," Momo stated with confidence.

Midoriya, however, was angry at himself. He should have thought of this possibility. Ida had demonstrated using Uraraka's quirk as a way to somewhat fly before during the break-in way back during the start of school. Izuku had observed it first hand, yet it had slipped his mind.

Tooru then arrived and asked, "Okay what are we going to do?"

"We ambush them once they get down here. They'll most likely take the stairs down, but just in case they take our route down, we should position ourselves to cover either," Midoriya answered. It wasn't much, but it was the best he could come within such little time.

"Not much to hide behind though," Hagakure stated.

Yaoyorozu looked around before saying, "There are pillars near both. We can hide behind them and then get the jump on Uraraka-chan."

"But we can't see anything from behind them without exposing were there," Izuku argued.

A few seconds passed before Tooru suggested, "I can stay out in the open and whisper which side they are coming from with the communicator."

Midoriya nodded, "That can work. Though I think it would be best that whichever side they don't come out of, show themselves as a distraction to divert attention before the other makes there move."

Momo started making her way to the elevator as she said, "Fine by me but we need to get into our positions if this is going to work. They should be here any second."

Izuku then ran over to the pillar by the stairway and took his position.

Within about a minute the sound of Tooru's voice whispered, "They're peeking out of the door from the stairwell."

Midoriya tensed up but quietly reached into his pocket and grabbed the handcuffs.

"Okay, they are exiting. Ida-kun is in the front with Uraraka-chan behind him and Ojiro-kun taking the rear. They are coming to your to left Izuku so get ready," Hagakure whispered.

Izuku adjusted his position but then saw Momo run out of her position towards the front entrance of the building.

Tenya then yelled, "I got her!"

The class president then sped forward towards his assistant, passing by Midoriya without being seen. Uraraka and Ojiro then followed.

Midoriya activated Full Cowl at 8% and lunged forward with a kick towards his tailed friend's side. Ochako was too far out of reach, so he needed to get through Mashirao first if he was going to have a chance.

Ojiro didn't see it coming as Midoriya struck his side and knocked him over. He then ran forward towards Uraraka who had just turned around at hearing her teammate grunting from being kicked. She assumed a stance and then reached forward to grab Izuku as he got close. He dodged and just as he was about to slap the cuffs on her outreached hands he received a kick to his stomach from Tenya.

"Nice surprise but that won't be enough against us," Ida said as he proceeded to launch a fury of kicks at Midoriya.

Izuku had already recovered and activated 15% but was surprised to find that Tenya's kicks didn't have much power to them. Was it cause of his boost or was his friend holding back?

Mashirao and Ochako were quick to rejoin the fight, and soon Izuku was being pushed back by the flurry of punches, kicks, and tail swipes. He already bumped up his power to 20% when the other two joined. He was able to keep up but not counter-attack.

Suddenly Ida was sprung backward as a steel chain with a hook wrapped around his right arm.

It was Yaoyorozu! She had wrapped it around a pillar and was currently making another one to throw at her class president's other arm.

Uraraka also fell back as her right arm was cuffed from nowhere. That must be Tooru, Midoriya thought.

Izuku then turned his attention towards Mashirao. The tailed teen's stance was different from what Midroiya remembered during his friend's fight on the rooftop months ago. The stance was narrow, and both his feet were positioned evenly on the ground, different from the broad and rear-foot based defensive stance Izuku was used to. Perhaps this was an offensive stance?

Tired of being pushed back, Midoriya deflected an elbow blow with his hand, which unbalanced Ojiro.

"Sorry Ojiro-kun I need to rejoin the others and you're in the way," Izuku stated before delivering a full force roundhouse kick towards Mashirao's chest.

Ojiro however only slid back a few centimeters from the impact. His tail had caught the blow.

"I'm glad you're finally getting serious," Mashirao said with a grin. He then wrapped his tail around Izuku's leg and threw him towards the building's entrance.

Midoriya was just meters from the door. As he got up to take on the oncoming Ojiro, he realized why he had been thrown in this direction. They want to get me outside to take advantage of Ida's quirk, he thought.

But from the corner of Izuku's eye came Tenya. However, something was different about him. Ida's arm armor was gone. Midoriya thought, did he remove them to get out of Momo's chains? Also, where was she?

There wasn't much time to think as Izuku dodged a tail swipe from Mashirao on his left and then a leg sweep from Tenya aimed at his legs.

As both boys started fighting Midoriya together, he began to notice something. Ida's movements were off and even slower than before.

Taking advantage of this, Izuku sidestepped another kick from the class president but grabbed it. He then twirled to gain momentum and threw Tenya at Mashirao. The tailed teen opened his arms to grab his partner but was knocked onto his back from the force of the catch.

Midoriya then bolted back towards the center of the room to see Uraraka struggling by herself near a pillar. Her arm was extended behind her, the one that was handcuffed. Ochako's other arm was struggling as she waved it back and forth on her side. Tooru must be still be trying to handcuff her, he thought.

Izuku pulled out his pair of handcuff but then heard Tooru yell, "Izuku, behind you!"

Midoriya felt a blow to his back as Ida proclaimed, "Recipro Burst!"

Izuku was sent forward a few meters. He however quickly recovered and stomped down his feet to stop. Midoriya then turned around to take on the onslaught of kicks from Ida followed. In his head, he started to countdown in seconds as took some blows and dodged some others. Izuku knew that Recipro Burst only lasted for ten seconds and was waiting for Tenya's speed to drop. From there he would counterattack before his friend could cooldown and use Recipro Extend to achieve even higher speed.

Suddenly Mashirao came into view and was about to join in the brawl, but Momo jumped from behind a nearby pillar onto her boyfriend's back. Both were then quickly wrapped by a large number of fibers created from her quirk and then the couple fell to the ground.

As Ojiro struggled, Yaoyorozu yelled, "I got Mashirao! Worry about the others!"

Ida's movements slowed. Time was up. But then Tenya stopped in his tracks. Sparks were coming from his exhausts, and he knelt down to both of his knees and clenched his legs.

Izuku was tempted to stop see what the issue was but when he heard nothing from his teachers over the communicator, he approached the fallen class president.

But then another blow came from his back, and Midoriya lost his balance and fell forward. He left weight on his back as he tried to get back up.

"Sorry, Izuku. I couldn't hold Uraraka-chan any longer," came Hagakure's voice from behind.

Tooru then got off of her boyfriend allowing him to stand. He turned to see Ochako standing in front of Tenya with her fists up ready to fight.

"I told you not to push yourself," Uraraka stated with a disappointed tone.

"Sorry. I couldn't let them handcuff you," Ida said with a grunt.

Midoriya then felt a tug on his handcuffs, which he was still holding behind him at the moment. He almost was startled about it before he realized who it was. She must have a plan, Izuku figured, and he let Tooru take his pair.

"This is just practice. It's not worth getting seriously hurt over this," Ochako retorted.

Tenya slowly stood up and said, "Yeah but for this to work I still need to train."

Mashirao grunted as he continued to try and break out of his bindings. A few had started to break from his struggling.

Momo then said, "You know if you break them all I'll just make more to make you stay put."

"Then I'll just have to tear them faster than you can make them when that time comes," Ojiro replied with a smirk.

"We'll join you in a moment Ojiro-kun," Ida stated while assuming a fighting stance. He then said, "Just need to take care of Midoriya-kun first."

Uraraka then said, "Keep an eye out for Hagakure-chan though."

"Right," Tenya said as he took a step forward. Though, almost immediately, he fell forward on to his face. A pair of handcuffs then appeared, and his arms were quickly cuffed.

"Gotcha Ida-kun," Tooru cried victoriously.

All Might's voice then spoke up through the communicator, "And that's a wrap! Good job everyone! Aizawa-san and I will be there momentarily so sit tight."

Ochako then shouted, "But my team can still fight sir!"

Aizawa's voice then said, "It's over. We will explain everything soon."

Uraraka sighed in defeat.

"It's alright Ochako. I think I know why that exercise ended the way it did," Ida said. He then cleared his throat and said, "Hagakure-chan if you would please get off my back."

Hagakure was quick to respond, "Oh right. Sorry!"

Tenya then flipped himself over and got into a sitting position before asking, "Anyone mind getting me out of these cuffs?"

"Give us a second here," Momo stated as Mashirao ripped through the last of the fibers that held them together. She then got up and produce a key from her index finger to unlock the handcuffs on the class president.

Midoriya took a few steps forward before asking "Ida-kun what's with you lately? Your match with Uraraka-chan last week and today's was off."

Uraraka was quick to answer, "Um... Tenya's just going through some intense training as of late is all."

Ida stood up, now without cuffs on and said, "Ochako is correct. This method of training has hindered my speed as of late but once I recover I should be vastly more powerful than before."

Izuku felt Tooru grab his hand as she asked, "How is this training you are doing causing you to be slower?"

"I'm sorry to say, but I cannot reveal it at this time until I see the results of it. But I can say it's effectively left me at 66% of my normal performance for the time being," Tenya explained.

"Perhaps if you and Ojiro-kun's plan weren't so hellbent on taking down Midoriya-kun you wouldn't have to had pushed yourself so hard," Ochako huffed as Momo was unlocking the handcuffs that were hanging off her right wrist.

The class president sighed before saying, "As I've said before, despite the downgrade in my speed my brother said I would still need to act as normal during training for this to work properly."

Uraraka made a face of disagreement but didn't say another word.

Ojiro then spoke up and said, "That would have been nice to know before going ahead with our plan Ida-kun. I wouldn't have agreed to focus on Midoriya-kun if I had known this."

Ida bowed before saying, "You are right. And I apologize. I just wanted this to display my new move once it's finished during normal class for all to see my growth. It was a selfish desire, and it caused us to lose in the end."

Mashirao had a surprised look on his face upon hearing the apology. He then said, "Oh, it's okay man. Maybe I was too harsh there."

Momo then said, "You were right to bring it up Mashirao. Ida-kun knows better than to withhold such information from a teammate."

The elevator then pinged grabbing everyone's attention.

All Might was the first walk out once the doors opened and he proclaimed, "Good show everyone!"

The group then made their way over their teachers as the former pro hero congratulated everyone on the battle.

"Alright, that's enough chatter. It's late enough as is, so let's get this over with," Aizawa stated with slight annoyance in his tone.

All Might gave Eraserhead a concerned look before saying, "Ah yes. The lessons taught today. Can anyone surmise why we ended the exercise the way we did?"

Before anyone could answer, the homeroom teacher asked, "Anyone not named Yaoyorozu-san, Ida-san, and Midoriya-san have an idea?"

Izuku guessed Shota wanted to hear from someone outside the top scoring students in the class.

Ojiro spoke up and said, "I'm guessing the lesson deals with that all team members are important. So even losing one teammate is considered a loss."

"Quite right," All Might stated with a thumbs up. He then said, "Even having one partner being incapacitated can hinder the entire operation."

"Ida-san's quirk was rendered useless, and then his movement was restricted even further once handcuffed. It was at this point we decided that it was your team's loss," Eraserhead explained as he looked over at Uraraka. He then said, "You all however excelled in protecting your teammates the best you could which shouldn't be downplayed."

"Indeed, though there was another objective we hoped you noticed," All Might stated.

Ida rose his hand which got a grunt from Aizawa, but he then stated, "Indulge us then Ida-san."

"Moving as a team despite our different speeds and means to get around sir," Tenya responded with zest.

The homeroom teacher nodded before saying, "And thankfully you all did as we hoped. If you had both taken the stairs, then it would have been quite a boring exchange in the streets."

All Might nodded as he said, "Yes I must say I was most impressed by the winning team's use of the elevator shaft to descend quickly."

Ida and Uraraka were quick to inquire the opposing team what they had done which lead to Midoriya and Yaoyorozu explaining it all. Hagakure did say that she was the one to see the other team trying to ambush them from behind. Then Ida explained his reasoning of their plan.

"Alright everyone it's getting late enough as is," the former pro hero stated to break up the current discussion.

Everyone looked over to notice that All Might was alone. Eraserhead had again left it seemed.

Uraraka then asked, "Sir is everything alright with Aizawa-sensei?"

The teacher scratched the back of his head as he replied, "He's just tired is all. it doesn't help that we had to do this late today."

Ochako looked somewhat skeptical about the answer but didn't say anything further. This did interest Izuku though, and he figured he might ask about it the next time he trained with All Might one-on-one again.

All Might then stated, "Well look forward to next week kids! We have something very different planned for you all!"

* * *

"Make this quick Midoriya-kun. I'm working with Yaoyorozu-chan and Sero-kun after this to start designing our outfits," Mina stated while crossing her arms.

"Trust me. It should only take a few minutes," Izuku reassured his impatient classmate.

It was Wednesday night, and both students were just outside the dorms having finished their daily training. The night chill air was refreshing since both were hot and sweaty from practice.

Ashido sighed before asking, "This is about me firing you earlier today is it not?"

"Sorta," Midoriya said while scratching the back of his head.

Izuku wasn't truly fired from the dance team. He had merely been given a smaller role in the dance routine to help the staging team, who was short on hands, with Yuga's role as the disco ball. Though Ashido showing up in a business suit and shades declaring Midoriya had been fired did give the impression he was, at first.

"Look no offensive, but out of everyone on the dance team, your dancing is the most subpar Midoriya-kun. I mean Ida-kun is struggling too, but at least he can do the robot well. I'm sure I can get you up to par by the end of the month, but it made the most sense for you to be the choice to get the cut," Mina explained.

"And I understand that Ashido-chan but I wanna discuss something else," Izuku argued.

Ashido put a hand up to her chin before asking, "Okay then, what's up?"

Midoriya gulped before asking, "Could you teach me how to dance after the cultural festival is over?"

Mina stayed silent for a few seconds before answering, "So you want additional lessons later."

Izuku nodded and said, "Yeah. I mean it doesn't have to be right away. If you want to wait till after out second term is over, I would understand."

"I don't mind doing it this term. You are right that we should wait to do it. Training everyone else is hard enough as is," Ashido stated after taking a seat on one of the steps leading up to their dorm. Midoriya took a seat beside her before she asked, "What kind of dancing do you want to learn though?"

"The kind I could do with my girlfriend," Izuku replied with a slight blush.

Mina produced a thin smile as she said, "Ah, I get it now. For your precious Hagakure-chan." Her face then switched to a more serious one as she began to ponder. After a few moments, Ashido said, "I think ballroom dancing would fit you both best."

"I don't exactly know what all that entails but you're the expert here Ashido-chan, so I'll go with whatever you judge is best," Izuku said with a shrug.

Ashido nodded before saying, "I'll do it, but I expect favor from you when the time comes."

Confused, Midoriya asked, "Favor? What do you have in mind?"

"No need to concern yourself about that now, just know I something in return for doing this for you," Mina replied while grinning.

Izuku sighed. He didn't have much choice here.

Ever since learning to dance a week ago, Midoriya had played with the idea of dancing with his girlfriend. But what Ashido was teaching wasn't something he wanted to do with her on a date. It was for entertainment, not romantic. Izuku was going to wait to ask Mina until after the festival but being fired earlier had spurred him to ask now. He wasn't sure if his dance teacher was going to give up on him entirely or not by the end. Ashido's confidence that she could make Midoriya learn the routine despite his lack of talent for dancing did comfort him.

The question though was the favor Mina would want. The girl was a handful to Izuku. While he could keep up with Tooru's antics, his pink classmate was on a whole other level. What could she have in mind? Was he overthinking this again? Sure Ashido was impulsive and erratic in her behavior, but she was still a good person from what Midoriya could tell. The favor she wanted couldn't be that bad, could it?

"Alright, I'll owe you a favor for teaching me how to ballroom dance when the time comes," Izuku stated as he outstretched a hand towards his dance coach.

Mina was quick to shake her classmate's hand almost violently as she said, "We have a deal! I can't wait for November!"

* * *

Izuku rubbed his shoulders as he ascended the stairs towards his bedroom. He never figured dancing would be using muscles in places he never knew compared to training to become a hero.

Today was Friday. Daily training for the festival had just concluded, and Midoriya was ready for a shower. However, just as he grabbed the handle to his door, he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey what up Midoriya-kun!"

Izuku looked around upon hearing the feminine voice to see it was Kyoka.

Midoriya held off from opening his door and said, "Oh hey. You need something?"

Somewhat reluctantly Jiro answered, "I need some advice."

Izuku opened his door before saying, "I'd be happy to help."

Kyoka walked in first and then took a seat on her host's desk chair.

Midoriya walked over to his dresser and started pulling out some clothes to change into. As he did, he asked, "Is this related to Koda-kun?"

"Sorta," Jiro replied as she crossed her arms.

Izuku then asked, "Is he still avoiding you?" He hadn't taken time to notice if things had changed between the two since the dance lessons started.

"Well, I finally was able to reestablish contact with him yesterday. Looks like he couldn't ignore me if I asked for help," Kyoka smirked while answering with the last sentence.

"Oh, that's good for you Jiro-chan," Midoriya stated while closing his drawer and placing his clothes on top of it.

Jiro sighed before saying, "Yeah but he only said I should seek out you to solve my problem. And dropped the conversation after that. I mean I was going to consult you with this question in the first place but-" She then groaned before finishing her sentence. Kyoka exhaled before saying, "Sorry I'm getting off subject. I need some help in condensing note taking to teach the band better as it's too complicated in its current state." She then pulled out a large stack of notes and laid them on the desk.

Izuku turned around towards his guest and began to ponder what she meant by this. It sounded like Kyoka was hoping that asking for help would trigger a longer conversation between the two. There had been progress, but she was too impatient again. Either way, it was an issue for another time, and one Midoriya thought he couldn't just solve at the moment.

Izuku instead walked over and pulled up a foldable chair and sat next to Kyoka. He grabbed one of his notebooks before saying, "Well we got a lot of work to do then. Let's get started.

* * *

"You look like hell Izuku," Tooru said with a bit of a laugh.

"And I told you already it's because I was assisting Jiro-chan early into the morning simplifying her notes," Izuku stated while rubbing his eyes.

Hagakure poked her boyfriend's shoulder as she said, "Well I meant more than before. Ashido-chan's lessons have been putting you through the wringer."

"Oh right, that too." Midoriya chuckled.

It was Saturday night, and after practice, Tooru asked her boyfriend to spend some time together outside the dorm so he would relax. He took the offer in a heartbeat of course. They were sitting at their typical meeting spot, the bench beneath the Japanese maple tree. By now it's leaves were blood red. It wouldn't be long though until the leaves would fall.

Izuku continued by saying, "I mean I thought I was detailed with my notes, she was on a whole other level. It wasn't until 4 am that we finished."

Midoriya then felt a pat on his back as Hagakure stated, "I'm sure it will be worth it, but do please get some rest after we're done here. I don't want you sleeping through the karaoke tomorrow."

"I promise," Izuku lazily stated as he rose a hand as if swearing an oath. he then thought for a moment and asked, "Do you want to sing at it?"

Tooru shook her boyfriend as she proclaimed, "Oh of course! Karaoke is the best fun!"

Once the shaking stopped, Midoriya said, "I look forward to it. Though I think I'm gonna pass."

"I figured, maybe someday though," Hagakure said in a teasing tone.

The two continued to chat about the dance lessons until, to their surprise, Bakugo came into view. He was jogging and had a pair of earbuds placed in his ears.

Tooru sighed and said, "Well better now then later." She then sprang up in the middle of the path just as Katsuki was about to pass by then and yelled, "Good evening Bakugo-san?"

The hell is she thinking, Izuku thought as he stood up.

Bakugo halted just a step or two away from Hagakure. He looked ready to explode but took a few breaths before taking off his earbuds and said, "This better be good no face."

Tooru then asked, "What are you doing out here jogging?"

"All this damn band practice for the festival is cutting into my work out routine. Now I got better things to do than play twenty questions with you two," Katsuki said as he was about to put on his earbuds on again.

"Well good luck with your run and congratulations on getting your provisional hero license," Hagakure stated before turning away from Bakugo.

Katsuki raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and then asked, "Your hella late to say that now, what gives?"

"Oh, I just learned a few days ago what you had passed. You're growing for the better so I thought I should say something is all," Tooru explained.

Bakugo's hands twitched, and sparks started to form as he proclaimed, "Who the fuck told you what happened? It had to be Icy Hot! I'm gonna blast him right the hell now!

"Would you calm the hell down already," Hagakure stated in a louder volume than before.

"Um Tooru-," Midoriya tried to say.

"Shut your trap Deku, I'm talking to no face at the moment," Katsuki stated while pointing a firm finger at Izuku. He then turned his eyes back at Tooru and asked, "So spill it. How and why should you care what I did?

"Kirishima-kun," Hagakure stated bluntly.

This got Bakugo's attention right away judging from his change in facial expression. He then said, "Go on."

"I've noticed him asking Todoroki-kun about what you two did since you passed. Each time though he couldn't get an answer. So on Tuesday, I provided some support for Kirishima-kun, and we both were finally able to crack Todoroki-kun," Tooru answered with confidence.

Katsuki exhaled loudly before asking, "So why give a damn?"

Tooru took a step forward before responding, "You passing means you're learning from your mistakes. And from what Todoroki-kun said, it's the whole truth. So it's just another step closer for you to own up to what you did to Izuku one day. Plus your growth reaffirms the faith I put in Izuku in believing your worth a damn yourself."

A few moments passed before Bakugo put on his earphones again and said, "You got no reason to congratulate me in the first place. I fucked up during the initial exam, so I don't deserve any thanks for correcting them, but just you wait. I'm gonna run circles around Deku in both heroics and academics going forward."

"I look forward to it Bakugo-san," Hagakure stated with a hint of anger in her voice.

"I can't hear you. This music is too damn loud no-face," Katsuki stated before taking off at a brisk pace.

With a sigh, Tooru returned to the bench and took a seat.

Izuku joined her and grabbed her hand before saying, "You can be scarier than Kacchan sometimes. Ya know?"

"Well, you can't let a guy like him get to you. You have to fight fire with fire. Besides, that felt good honestly," Tooru replied with a chuckle at the end.

Midoriya then asked, "Why did Todoroki-kun not wanna tell Kirishima-kun in the first place?"

"From what I could tell, he knew that it would upset Bakugo-san and didn't want to bother dealing with the fallout," Tooru responded. She then sighed before saying, "On Tuesday I decided to step in as I was curious myself. I argued that Kirishima-kun was conflicted about when Bakugo-san fought with you."

Confused Izuku asked, "How did you know Kirishima-kun was having issues with Kacchan?" He never told anyone about Ejirio visiting his room to talk about Katsuki.

"I mean it's clear as day to me. Ever since you two beat the crap out of each other Kirishima-kun has kept his distance from Bakugo-san. It was very apparent the day after you came back from the hospital. Bakugo-san asked for Kirishima-kun's assistance during training, and he refused and instead said he was going to with Ojiro-kun. The old Kirishima-kun would have never turned down such an offer, so I knew something was up, Hagakure explained.

Tooru then got up and said, "I'll tell you later what happened as I'm a bit hot and bothered right now. I need to clear my head." She then turned around and pulled Izuku up and asked, "How about some more 'training' on the dorm roof before bed?"

Midoriya gulped before replying, "That s-sounds like a g-great idea."

* * *

"About time you two showed up. It's gonna start soon," Ojiro complained. He was standing on the steps leading up to their dorm.

"Hey! The video chat with our parents ran later than we thought it would. My mom can be such a chatterbox at times," Hagakure huffed as she descended the stairs.

As Midoriya followed beside his girlfriend, he said, "And besides we did this a lot later than we usually do. Tooru's parents were busy meeting with some family friend earlier today."

"I didn't even know you both did this with your parents each Sunday until today anyway. Your parents are already that friendly with each other after a couple of months is surprising to me," Mashirao said as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

Tooru then bluntly asked, "And is there anything wrong with that?"

"Nah. Just thinking how it would be a very different situation concerning my parents and Momo's. I know very little about your folks, but I bet they get along. I'm kind of jealous. Though we haven't been together long enough to do such things," Ojiro answered while taking the lead ahead of the couple as they began their short walk to 1B's dorm.

Hagakure asked with a teasing voice, "I getcha, but speaking of which, how did your date with Yaoyorozu-chan go this morning?"

Mashirao turned his head and said, "Go ask Momo."

Angrily, Tooru retorted, "Why? I bet you tell Izuku everything."

"I try not to pry too much Tooru. Ojiro-kun tells me what he wants to and I leave it like that," Izuku said to calm her down as she waved her arms in protest. He felt that now that they were together, he shouldn't be as nosy. Midoriya recalled how most their interactions outside school had been about Yaoyorozu since his birthday. Minus the occasionally harmless tease, Mashirao hadn't prodded Izuku about his relationship with Tooru since they got together. And he felt he should do the same for his tailed friend.

Hagakure argued, "Come on we're all friends here! I want to hear if they are enjoying themselves."

Ojiro turned his head back as he said, "If you must know things are going well. Ida-kun helped me make a nice lunch for her and next week we plan to look at the Halloween decorations and lights with her. That's all you need to know."

Tooru reached forward and patted Mashirao's back as she stated, "See? That wasn't so hard."

Mashirao then asked, "You're still gonna ask her, huh?"

"Duh," Hagakure was quick to respond.

This got a chuckle from Midoriya but a short groan from Ojiro.

The trio then arrived at 1B's dorm. Vlad King was standing just outside the front entrance, and he held the door open for the students.

Mashirao then said, "Evening Kan-sensei."

"The internship is long over Ojiro-san, you can just call me Vlad King now," the homeroom teacher stated with a confused look.

Ojiro gave a big grin as he replied, "No can do sir."

Kan smirked as he said, "If you say so, kid." He then looked at the others and said, "Well with you three here that makes twenty total. That's good; I was hoping everyone would show up."

"Wait everyone showed up from our class? No way," Hagakure stated in disbelief.

But sure enough, when the three walked into the common room, everyone from 1A was present.

Koda and Komori, a short girl with a mushroom-like a hairstyle, were in a corner quietly drinking punch. Bakugo was being pestered by Kaminari as Tetsutetsu was offered some snacks to both. Shoji and Tokoyami were both just to the right-leaning on the wall. Kuroiro, whose skin was entirely black, was talking to the two.

"See. All here," Izuku said with a smile. He was glad everyone had come, the two classes need to get to know each other better. He then approached the trio to the right as Tooru and Mashirao followed.

Kuroiro noticed the newcomers and looked back to Tokoyami as he said, "Well if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

"Sorry to disappoint then," Fumikage stated as he turned his head away.

As the 1B student left, Tooru asked, "What was that about?"

"He knows what this karaoke program entails. He was wondering if Tokoyami-kun would assist him or not,"

"As if I would ever sing," Tokoyami stated with distaste in his voice. He then said, "We might both be one with the darkness, but that doesn't mean we are alike."

In an ecstatic voice, Hagakure proclaimed, "This is going to be a duo? Yes!" She then quickly left and joined a crowd of some of the girls.

"Well it's nice someone is enjoying this," Shouji stated as he watched the invisible girl run off.

Ojiro then asked, "Why did you two come here anyway?"

"We are a family. One must be able to put up with things we dislike if it's for the betterment of the group. Sato-kun spoke the truth that the rivalry between our classes is disadvantageous. We are all seeking to be heroes and might be allies one day. So there should be no ill will among classmates," Mezo explained.

Fumikage was taken aback at the answer. He then coughed and said, "Um, what Shoji-kun said."

Midoriya figured Tokoyami had a similar response, but it wasn't as heartfelt and didn't know how to follow up to that. Still what Shoji said did resonate with him. This experience would be good for both classes, and Izuku hoped for the best.

The lights then dimmed as a voice from a microphone spoke up.

"Good evening everybody, and thanks for coming tonight," Kendo stated.

In the middle of the common room, a small stage had been set up with a monitor to the side that would show the lyrics of what was going to be sung. Currently, Kendo and Ida were both standing on it with a spotlight on them.

Ojiro motioned to Midoriya to sit at an empty couch to the left of Bakugo and Kaminari.

Ida then raised a fist as he said, "Yes a hundred percent attendance in both classes for an optional activity like this is much deserving of praise."

This statement got a few chuckles among the crowd.

Tenya then continued once the laughing had died down, "Now even though this was a joint effort between both class presidents to put together, credit still belongs to Sato-kun for the inspiration and for working behind the scenes."

The spotlight then darted to Sato, who was standing between Tsunotori and Sero. He got up and made his way to the stage as Ida stepped off and handed him a microphone.

During this, Midoriya looked around, wondering who was controlling the spotlight. He noticed Shoda, the one who forfeited during the Hero Festival along with Ojiro, on a computer in the background. It had wires going to the stage and the speakers on the side. Izuku figured he was dealing with the logistics of everything on his own.

"Thank you Ida-kun," Sato stated as he took the stage beside Kendo. he then said, "Now to drive home the point that we should get to know each other better, Kendo-chan and I have decided that this Karaoke event should be done as a duo!"

"Yes! How this will work is that we will give some time for students from each class to form a duo to sing together. We have changed the settings to incorporate a cooperative singing arrangement for each song," Kendo explained.

A couple of concerned murmurs shot through the crowd at this statement.

So not everyone in 1B knew about this, Midoriya thought.

Sato smirked as he said, "We figured this would be the case, so allow us to have two demonstrations before we let everyone else have a go."

Kendo then said, "Yaoyorozu-chan. Shiozaki-chan. Please come up!"

Ojiro then said, "Well this is news to me." He then got up and looked more interested than before. Midoriya swore he even saw a tail wag for a few seconds.

The two planners left once they handed off their microphones. Momo talked to Ibara briefly before the light dimmed even more before they started to sing.

And it was beautiful. While Yaoyorozu's singing voice was wonderful, Shiozaki's voice was divine. The song was inspiring and powerful, and Midoriya felt some religious undertones from the lyrics, but from start to finish it was breathtaking.

Once it was over, a loud applause followed.

"She never mentioned she could sing," Mashirao stated slowly as he clapped.

"Um, Ojiro-kun, your tail," Izuku said while pointing.

Ojiro's tail was wagging quite a bit. He immediately grabbed it and said, "Damn it!" Mashirao then looked over at Izuku and said softly, "You saw nothing."

Midoriya chuckled before asked, "Saw what?"

This got a smirk from Mashirao.

"Thanks you two! That was wonderful," Kendo stated with a cheerful tone.

"Now for our second demonstration, Fukidashi-san would you please join me up here," Sato stated with confidence in his voice.

Manga got up and joined Rikido and what followed was bizarre.

The two sung, what Midoriya could describe, some parody or comedy piece. It depicted a crazed individual being excited to go to a hardware store at its grand opening. While neither were talented in their voices, the absurdity of it all was hilarious. The music itself was mostly rock and roll, and the speed at the climax was insane. Manga sung the solo at the end which had lyrics coming at a mile a minute and Izuku was for sure no one could match singing so fast for so long as the 1B student did.

The piece got a lot of laughs, especially from the boys. Bakugo though was groaning by the end.

Why did he come, Midoriya wondered. As surprising as Shoji and Tokoyami coming come were, Bakugo was much more unbelievable.

"Thank you all. I figured a lighter tone for the second piece would be good after the seriousness of the first," Sato stated with a thumbs up.

Kendo nodded as she then said, "And now we will have a break to let those that are willing to find a partner to sing with. If you have any questions at our selection of songs, please see Shoda-san in the back."

The lights brightened, and a good number of students got up to talk one another.

Mashirao then asked, "You wanna sing now?"

Izuku sunk his shoulders as he said, "N-No. But now I feel bad I'm not."

"I sorta have the same feeling but a lot of other people look interested, so I don't feel as bad as about it," Ojiro stated.

Before Midoriya could respond, however, Monoma approached the two.

The 1B student then stated, "Evening Ojiro-san."

Mashirao exhaled before responding with, "Monoma."

Neito shrugged before saying "Even now, no honorific." He then sighed before asking, "Anyways, want to give this karaoke thing a try?"

"You have to be joking," Ojiro replied as he crossed his arms.

Midoriya thought he was joking too.

"I'm quite serious. Kendo-chan will scold or maybe even strike me if I don't try and play nice. So if I'm gonna do this with anyone from 1A, I figured it should be you Ojiro-san," Monoma explained.

Mashirao took a moment to respond, "I don't get your reasoning."

"I was quite clear why just seconds ago," Neito stated in a confused tone.

Ojiro shook his head before saying, "Not that. This whole trying to turn a new leaf with me. What gives?"

"Ah that. Well, this isn't exactly the best place to discuss that in detail but just know that I want us to be friendly rivals going forward. Maybe sometime later I can speak with you in private about the matter," Monoma said while cupping his chin with a hand.

"Still sounds like a joke to me and I don't understand the punch line," Mashirao stated with a grunt.

Monoma just sighed before Kendo appeared at his side. She then asked, "We behaving over here?"

"Everything's fine Kendo-san," Izuku said.

Itsuka looked unconvinced and asked, "You sure?"

"It's fine Kendo-san. No problems here," Mashirao said reluctantly.

"I'll make my leave Kendo-chan. I made my point already," Neito stated before walking away.

Kendo followed her classmate as Ojiro asked, "Do you trust him?"

"I think at the very least you should talk to him. It seems he's willing to tell you why he's acting like this," Midoriya answered.

Mashirao scratched the back of his head as he said, "Yeah. It's just hard to feel anything but hatred for the guy even though I've put most of that aside by now."

The two remained silent for a few minutes until a commotion to the right caught their attention.

"Come on shitty hair I need your help. I don't ask often, but I think working together we can beat this guy," Bakugo stated.

Kurorio then asked, "The hell are you talking about? I come over here asking if you wanna be my partner and you ask another student from your class?"

"Hey now, they never said we couldn't do more than two people," Katsuki stated with a smirk.

Ejirio sighed before saying, "Man I don't know."

"You've been avoiding me since I fought Deku. It's pretty obvious," Bakugo said sternly. He then asked, "Guessing that's the reason why?"

Kirishima face got a more serious look as he answered, "Among other things, but yeah."

Katsuki shot a glance at Izuku before saying, "Yeah I don't blame you, but this whole awkward shit is the worst you know?" He paused for a moment before saying, "I've done some fucked up stuff growing up. And nothing I do is gonna make that go away easily but I'm trying to turn for the better, and you've been a part of that Kirishima-san."

Bakugo held out a hand and said, "And right now I need you your help to teach these 1B students that we're better. I can't do it alone."

Kaminari then stated, "Kacchan, doesn't that go against the whole point of why Sato-kun and the class presidents set this up?"

"I told you to stop fucking calling me that," Katsuki said as he shook Denki.

"Alright then, let's give a shot Bakugo-kun," Eijiro answered with a grin and holding out a hand.

"Let's knock 'em dead Kirishima-san," Bakugo said as he outreached his arm and shook Kirishima's hand.

"Guess I'll go find another partner from my class then," Kurorio stated as he turned around and walked off.

Mashirao snapped his fingers in front of Izuku's face as he said, "Earth to Midoriya-kun."

Midoriya shook his head before asking, "Huh? What?"

"You've been transfixed there for a while since Bakugo-san made up with Kirishima-kun," Ojiro explained.

"Oh? I have? Sorry. I just. Wow, I wasn't expecting that from Kacchan and-," Izuku tried to say.

"Breathe," Mashirao said as he interrupted his friend's mumbling.

Midoriya took a couple breathes and then said, "I'm just happy that he's becoming a better person. That I wasn't wrong about him."

Ojiro sighed and then said, "Still a pretty big asshole."

"Yeah," Izuku said with a nod.

"But maybe Monoma is going through the same thing," Mashirao then said.

Midoriya didn't know how to respond to that, but he didn't have much time to think about as only moments later did Kendo and Sato asked for everyone willing to participate to come forward.

Once everything was settled, the first to go on stage was Tooru and the aloof Reiko Yanagi. The two performed some pop song about Halloween that Midoriya didn't recognize. Tooru's singing voice, while not as good as Momo's, was still pleasant to Izuku's ears. Reiko's monotone voice somewhat worked here as she sounded ghostly, which fit the Halloween theme.

Once it was over Hagakure returned to her boyfriend and sat between him and Ojiro to his dismay.

Next up, was a big shocker to everyone.

Minoru and Pony.

Izuku recalled Denki asking, "How the hell did Mineta-kun set this up?"

But it turned out Mineta had appealed to Tsunotori's love of anime. They both sung a popular anime opening song and surprisingly it wasn't too bad. Minoru's singing voice was still terrible, but it was bearable now at least. Izuku wondered if he had gotten around to asking Kyoka for advice, and wondered how that would have gone down if he did.

Kaminari looked somewhat uncomfortable about it though and when Midoriya asked the response was, "That's anime is like, super ecchi."

Izuku didn't wanna delve any further after learning that.

While there many other songs sung, the one that stuck out most afterward was Katsuki's performance.

Kuroiro had asked Tetsutetsu to join him, and their clash with Bakugo and Kirishima had been deafening. The song they played was some long-winged heavy rock epic that almost last ten minutes. It contained lyrics about adventure, glory, and victory with insane guitar solos that had stunned Midoriya with how complicated they were. The song choice played with Eijiro's odd choice of singing style and Tetsutestu and Bakugo's extreme yelling. Kurorio had a decent singing voice but was just drowned out by his partner.

In the end, there was no victor, which Katsuki argued wasn't true but it got a good laugh out of Izuku.

Despite the hardships of training, school, and romance; Midoriya was content with how his life was going, and couldn't ask for more.

* * *

 **Well for once I released late due to real life bullshit (that lasted two week). It's thankfully done and over with and everything is better now (minus my Aunt dying Sunday and her funeral being today, which is unrelated to the two week thing) but it still sucks y'all have to wait so long for this. The good news is my changes to how I was writing was working well until the bullshit hit and stalled my writing to a halt.**

 **But enough of that, let's just jump right in shall we?**

 **The first scene got two major changes. Originally Izuku's team was going to have Mashirao** **but I eventually came up with the elevator idea and I needed Momo for this. The fight itself ended up being shorter than I planned but I think short bursts of action are the best I can do at the moment. Plus writing the planning was fun. Hopefully, as I write more action I'll be more comfortable writing longer fights. One positive for releasing late was that I was able to foreshadow Ida's improvement seen in Chapter 204. This changed that I wanted Izuku's team to lose at first and instead have it show the repercussions of Tenya's** **training. The reason for the training still stands even if it turned out different. If you wish to know, the difference would have been that Midoriya would have been forced outside and been taking out from teamwork between Ojiro and Ida.**

 **Mina! I finally get to use her for more than a few lines! Though we won't see her again until the time skip after the School Festival arc, I got lots of plans with her during the dance lessons.**

 **Initially, I was going to have a Koda scene but decided this would be the best place to do my rendition of Jiro asking for Midoriya's help, even if it's pretty short. Plus now that I think about it, it would have been a bit hasty to use what I wanted to do with Koji, so best to shelf it for later.**

 **Now the Bakugo** **scene. I pushed this back two chapters but it felt still worked here well enough. As short as the retest arc was, it was some great development for Katsuki. So it felt obvious to use this as a way from Tooru to affirm why she supported Izuku's faith put in Katsuki. This was also used to resolve Kirishima's earlier issues with Bakugo** **which then bridged into the Karaoke scene.**

 **The Karaoke scene was quite something. It went through a few rewrites and was the bane of my existence for a time. But in the end, I think it worked out and re-reading it makes me feel happy I did it. Again the idea was conceived during Spring Break so I was so glad to finally have a go at it. I wanted to do this also to get some more development between Monoma and Ojiro as well as cap off Kirishima's beef with Bakugo** **. Note there will be more joint activities between 1A and 1B but don't expect one until the third term considering the joint battle arc that is currently happening in the manga.**

 **Night Foilage completed editing chapter 14, with 78 edits and is now 13,252 words! She's also more than halfway done with chapter 15, which is still my longest chapter written to date.**

 **Lots happening on my Tumblr. First I have over 100 Tumblr followers! Posting art definitely gets you a lot more followers than just text, lol. Anyways, Just a few days after posting the last chapter my MHA x Persona 5 commission request featuring Cubicity's main characters finally was completed. Both pieces turned out wonderful and it exploded on the Reddit BNHA main page getting over 3,700 upvotes! Two weeks ago another commission request got done and was also different than my usual commissions. Up until this point, I've been doing stuff to promote Cubicity. This one was a MinaDeku piece as a gift to QuirkQuartz for his fanfic, Awkward Energy, turning two years old on the 24th of October. That fic and The First Generation, also made by him, were the fics that inspired me to write in the first place. Also, I wanted to do something for MinaDeku as it is my top ship and this felt like the best way to do (the idea has been in my head since like March). I got plans for two more commissions this year so look forward to that!**

 **Also yesterday I got a big surprise. An artist from the Kacchako** **discord I visit regularly sketched me some IzuTooru smut as a gift. I can honestly say I never expected this to happen and was overwhelmed. Now my Tumblr is a sfw** **blog so I won't post it there but for those that are 18+ and are interested in seeing it, check out vagitisart** **on Tumblr.**

 **So yeah...the next chapter. It will release sometime in December, hopefully, sooner than later. Once this weekend is over I plan to rush straight into it. I need to get myself back on a good schedule as it's unfair for you guys for me to keep breaking my promises. Hopefully, I see you all soon!**


	27. Weaknesses and Secrets

Chapter 27: Weaknesses and Secrets

Tooru asked, "So what do you think training is gonna be today? What with Aizawa-sensei asking us not to suit up and all."

"Maybe it's just a normal lesson about team tactics and strategy," Momo answered from the invisible girl's left.

From the Hagakure's right, Midoriya said, "Or maybe a more detailed review of our last two lessons. They were sorta more brief than to my liking."

Yaoyorozu then asked, "Are you saying that cause of Aizawa-sensei's hasty exit each time?"

Izuku nodded at this but didn't have anything to add and said nothing.

"Oh, I bet we just annoyed him with our banter. Especially during our first meeting," Tooru stated. Her arm then rose, and she patted Momo's back as she said, "He didn't much care about the whole outing of you and Ojiro-kun as dating."

The vice class president responded with, "He might just be tired like All Might-sensei said."

Hagakure shrugged before saying, "Maybe, but enough about that. Tell me about your little afternoon date with Ojiro-kun yesterday!"

As the Momo explained, Izuku instead turned his thought process towards the oncoming TAC meeting. The class had just finished their daily training for their performance. After they all showered, they made their leave. The others had left early while Momo had stayed behind with Kyoka to put the instruments and sound equipment away and then joined Izuku and Tooru. The trio was currently making their way to the main campus.

The point of interest to Midoriya was being told they weren't doing a physical exercise today. After classes, Ida had been informed by Aizawa to just come straight to their classroom for the night. The class president was quick to text everyone the news. All Might had said last week that their training this week would be different, though this still came as a shock to Izuku. What could they be doing today?

At this point, the trio was inside the school and not far from their homeroom. Before they arrived, the door opened to their classroom, and Ida stepped out to say, "I thought you three were going to be late. What took you so long?"

Tooru was quick to say, "Ah sorry Ida-kun that was me slowing us down with gossip."

Tenya squinted his eyes before closing them and sighing. "It's whatever, let's just start."

Izuku entered the room to see All Might behind the podium, Eraserhead in his usual corner in his usual sleeping bag, and Ojiro in his usual seat with Uraraka behind him.

Aizawa then stood up and unzipped his sleeping bag as he stated, "Finally we can begin."

Hagakure and Midoriya took their usual seats on the last row, and Tenya and Momo sat in the front of the 3rd row.

"Sorry for the change in scenery tonight but we felt that there was more need for lecture over practice today," All Might stated.

"Everyone did fine enough the last two weeks to satisfy us both to continue doing this, so for now let's move on to something else," Aizawa said as he started to write on the whiteboard. He wrote the word weaknesses and then turned to the students to say, "A team needs to know where it is lacking. If a group cannot identify them then your efficiency and growth as a functional unit are compromised and set up to fail."

The former pro hero nodded before saying, "And to do that we're going to have each of you point out a flaw in each other." He then turned his head and said, "Starting with you Hagakure-san."

Startled, Tooru asked, "Do I get to choose anybody?"

"Since you are starting, yes. But from then on once someone has been told of their weakness, then they are off limits," All Might answered.

Hagakure crossed her arms and then said with confidence, "Easy then. Ojiro-kun doesn't have much range and is at a disadvantage against those with sharp weapons."

Ojiro sighed before saying, "While I will agree with my lack of reach, did you forget about my new gloves?"

Tooru asked, "What about them? I thought they just looked cool."

"As if. I got these made to stop blades and other sharp objects. I mean they won't stop an attack head on of course, but I can safely deflect them away unlike before," Mashirao replied.

Izuku had figured that was their purpose. The tailed teen started using them once the new term started. Ojiro must have asked for them after the run-in with Monoma, and they were produced over the summer break, Midoriya thought.

"While they were a good addition to your hero suit, Hagakure-san's point still stands about you were having to deal with such threats head-on," Eraserhead said as he leaned against the whiteboard beside All Might. He then said, "Midoriya-san you're next."

"Oh um, I guess Uraraka-chan's issue is closing the gap with her opponent," Izuku quickly thought up. He was so caught up with thinking about Mashirao, and he hadn't realized what he would need to say about the others. It was just the first to pop into his head.

Ochako looked intrigued but also confused upon hearing this.

Aizawa twirled one of his hands as he said, "Go on."

"Once she can apply her quirk to her opponent it greatly hinders them. The problem is if she is dealing with someone that is naturally faster or way has methods to keep a distance it makes it extremely difficult to apply zero gravity," Midoriya explained. He said this because of Uraraka failing to get ahold of him during their last training. Izuku knew that not every scenario would require an outright brawl with a villain, but since the previous two exercises were strictly battle focused, so it felt relevant.

"Agreed," Eraserhead said bluntly. He pointed at Ida and said, "You're up."

Tenya thought for a moment before saying, "I believe Yaoyorozu-chan's folly is the time needed to create objects. Correct me if this is absurd of course, but I think investing time with your quirk in a way to create many tools one would commonly need all at once might be beneficial. At least in a one-on-one scenario, this gives fewer openings for your opponent as you try and create."

"Hmmm, I can make multiple things at once, but I never considered such an option," Momo responded.

"This could also assist your teammates as well," All Might stated while nodding.

Aizawa gave a nod before saying, "Fair enough. Now-"

But before the homeroom teacher could say anything more, Momo interrupted with, "While I think Midoriya-kun's range issue isn't as problematic as it is with Ojiro-kun due to being faster, I still think he needs to figure out a way to attack enemies from afar."

The former pro hero said, "To be fair, beside Ida-san and perhaps Yaoyorozu-san, everyone in this group has problems with range. But we will go over possible solutions to that another day."

Midoriya was about to say something about his potential fix to the problem, but a glance by All Might got him to reconsider and say, "You're right. I noticed this problem first hand back during my internship."

The room went quiet for a few seconds before Eraserhead cleared his throat and said, "Ojiro-san, if you would please."

"I believe Hagakure-chan's quirk is counterproductive in some ways when it comes to stealth. Teammates can't tell where she is all the time and if she says where she is it gives away her position," Mashirao explained with a smirk.

Tooru gave a soft grunt at this, but she realized her karma from choosing him first and said no more.

"There's more, but we'll get into that later. So Uraraka-san, please inform us of Ida-san's weakness," Aizawa stated.

Ochako scratched the back of her head as she said, "Well once he reaches his max speed, Ida-kun only has a short period where he can maintain his quirk before petering out, even considering second wind of Recipro Extend. But he's working on fixing that right now so, er I don't know what else to say about his weaknesses."

"We'll just have to wait and see the fruits of your training Ida-san," Eraserhead said while giving a particular glare at the class president.

Tenya gulped and then said, "I don't plan to disappoint, sensei."

Aizawa closed his eyes and smirked with a grunt.

All Might cleared his throat before stating, "Well it seems you all have the basic grasp of the flaws of your teammates and that will be our focus going forward."

"Yes, once we resume this after the cultural festival is over," the homeroom teacher said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

The former pro hero sighed, but before he could speak, Tooru spoke up and asked, "Wait we're already taking a break?"

All Might nodded before answering with, "We will resume this on the second Monday of November."

Momo then asked, "But why? Did something happen?"

"Do not worry Yaoyorozu-san, this was all planned from the start," the skeleton of a man explained as he held up his hands defensively. He then put them down and exhaled before continuing with, "These first two weeks were merely a test to see if this was a worthwhile endeavor. Now that we have determined that it was, we want everyone to focus on the cultural festival."

"But sensei, this isn't conflicting with our practice for the festival. It's been scheduled after it," Izuku stated with haste.

"I understand that but I would rather you use these next few Mondays nights to rest. You all already have enough on your plate as is. Besides we still have homework for you all during this break so this period won't be entirely wasted," All Might explained.

Tenya and Momo's attention was grabbed from their teacher's last statement. Izuku heard a soft groan from Tooru.

"On top of the costume changes I recommended you to look into for the coming cold weather in class this morning, you should also consider enhancements that might help resolve or lessen any weakness we covered today," Aizawa stated.

Midoriya recalled during homeroom that morning his teacher suggested to the students to start thinking about winter variant of their costumes. Izuku felt he didn't need anything to keep himself warm for winter, but it did have him wonder what his classmates would think up of.

The former pro hero then said, "We also want you to discuss with your teammates here ways to cover your weaknesses. Expect us to ask about them in length come our next meeting. From there we will spend a good amount of lessons working on everyone's flaws. Be it through individual training or a group effort."

"We don't expect any upgrades to your costumes to be ready by when we next meet of course, but we would still like to hear what you submitted if you did," Aizawa said as he walked over and picked up his sleeping bag. He then turned around and stated, "That's all. You are all dismissed."

Eraserhead quickly exited which prompted All Might to sigh but then say, "Good luck with the homework kids. I'm sure you'll come up with some unique solutions."

Everyone then said their goodbyes to the teacher and prepared to leave.

Before Tooru could leave, however, Izuku grabbed her right shoulder from behind and said, "Wait up Tooru." After his girlfriend turned around, he asked, "Do you mind staying behind for a minute so we can talk?"

All Might had already stepped out by this point, but the rest of Midoriya's friends were still there.

Ida was quick to state, "Just be back before curfew you two."

"Midoriya-kun said it would only take a minute, leave them be," Uraraka said as she pulled her boyfriend out of the classroom by pulling one of his arms.

"Yeah just keep it rated PG," Ojiro said with a chuckle.

"Oh, please," Yaoyorozu sighed as she pulled the tailed teen by the ear out the door.

Mashirao protested and responded with, "C'mon Momo I was only joking." The rest of the conversation was drained out as the two moved out of hearing range.

Tooru had been laughing at the scene, and once she finished she asked, "So what is it? Nothing bad I'm hoping."

Izuku shook his head and said, "Nothing like that. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to go on a date this Sunday."

"Already? We just went to my house two weeks ago," Hagakure replied with curiosity.

"Well, I figured the weekend before the festival we might be a bit too exhausted to want to do anything," Midoriya argued.

Tooru took a few steps forward and put an arm around her boyfriend's neck as she said, "Okay then, this weekend it is, but there will be a catch."

Izuku gulped as he asked, "What do you have in mind?"

"We do whatever I want. Though in exchange I'll be the one to pay for what I have planned," Hagakure stated proudly.

"Tooru you don't have to-," Izuku tried to say but stopped when Tooru turned in front of him and wrapped her other arm around his neck.

"Do we have a deal?"

Midoriya stalled for a moment. This sorta solved his dilemma of being short on cash. Izuku wanted to confirm a date this weekend and figure out with Tooru what to do before asking his mom for money. So at least until next month, this problem wasn't an issue. But what about the stipulation of Hagakure being allowed to do anything she wanted? This is what Midoriya was afraid of. He didn't think his girlfriend was trying to be sneaky or anything, just straight forward wanting to do something that he might not be comfortable with.

Tooru then asked, "Do you need a day or so to think about it?"

Midoriya looked to the side as he tried to make up his mind. He knew Hagakure was currently in a very compromising position at the moment with her neck hole from her clothes right in front of him and he didn't want to take advantage of it. But then something came to him. All of Tooru's planned surprises were usually innocent, sure they might lead to unintended situations, but nothing Izuku hasn't been able to walk away from or just refuse to do in the case of being asked to see her parents so long ago.

"Okay I give, the date is totally on you," Midoriya stated after exhaling loudly. He then felt a small peck of Hagakure's lips on his cheek.

"You won't regret it," Tooru stated as she let go of her boyfriend. She then said, "Now let's get back before anyone starts getting ideas."

* * *

"Measuring tape!"

"Here."

A few seconds went by.

"Screwdriver!"

"Sure."

A minute passed.

"This is too rigid. Need some oil here!"

"Okay."

Mei's head popped out almost immediately after she received a can of oil. Before it was just her hand that would come out of the robot. She then said, "No not the synthetic oil I need the general stuff. I'm just trying to loosen this up bolt a bit."

"Uhhhhh," was all Izuku could muster as he looked at the plethora of tools and cans at his side.

Hatsume groaned as she stated, "The silver can. Silver is regular and green is synthetic. Remember that!"

"Yes, ma'am," Midoriya answered with a sigh.

It was Tuesday, and Izuku was once again assisting Mei. Today he was helping with her project for the cultural festival. Currently, she was inside a giant robot, who she called her "202nd child". The chest panel of the machine had been removed, and Hatsume was deep within it trying to repair something that went over Midoriya's head when she tried to explain it. But judging that since the last time he saw the robot it was on exploding, it probably had a lot of issues that would be hard to explain simply anyways.

There hadn't been much talk between the two as Mei worked and after about ten minutes it was getting a bit too unsettling for Izuku. After about a minute from the last response, he asked, "So did you get my new item request?" Ever since All Might had suggested focusing on air bullets as a ranged option, Midoriya had been thinking of ways to better utilize his finger flicks with more concentrated power and also a way to reduce the strain on his hand.

"Yeah I saw it, and your baby should be ready around the end of the month," Hatsume stated as if it was no big deal.

This confused and shocked Izuku. Such an item shouldn't be able to be made so quickly. Half of October was already over! Midoriya replied, "You sure you can make it that fast?"

Hatsume answered, "Of course. I could make it quicker if I weren't so focused on number 202 here."

"And don't forget our current string of orders from students," Power Loader stated as he carried some boxes to his workbench.

"Yeah yeah," Mei replied with an irritated tone. She then sighed and continued with, "Anyways Midoriya-kun, your request is similar to one of my past babies. I just need to modify it to fit your specifications."

"I see. Thanks, Hatsume-chan," Izuku responded.

"No problem. Now take these back, it's getting crowded in here," Hatsume stated as popped out again to hand Midoriya back her tools.

As Izuku placed them back where he found them, he heard the door to the workshop slide open and see none other than his girlfriend.

Hagakure walked in and asked, "You busy Izuku?"

Midoriya dashed over and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Turning in that homework, we were assigned last night," Tooru whispered. She then walked over to Power Loader and presented some paperwork. Izuku decided to close the door before following her.

Maijima took it but put it to his side as he said, "Another order, huh. Is it urgent? Or major?"

"No rush sir, but they are some difficult requests," Hagakure replied.

"I'm sure it's nothing me and my assistant can't handle but don't expect it anytime soon. We're pretty busy as is," Power Loader said as started going back to work on his current project.

Tooru thanked the mechanic and then turned around and whispered to her boyfriend, "Hey so where is Hatsume-san?"

"Ah shit. Uh, Midoriya-kun going to need some towels here. We got a leak," came Mei's muffled voice came from inside her robot.

Izuku pointed with his thumb at #202 as he said, "There." He then proceeded to grab some shop towels and hand them to the pink haired mechanic.

As Hatsume dealt with the spill Hagakure said, "Ah hello Hatsume-san. I'm Tooru Hagakure."

"Give me a minute please," Mei stated hastily.

After Izuku gave a few more towels, a hand came out and gave a wave. "Hey," was all she muttered before going back to work.

"Introduce yourself properly," Power Loader said, not turning around from his work.

"Alright, alright," Hatsume groaned. She then climbed out of the robot's chest, a good portion of her shirt soaked in some liquid. It looked like the had leaked from her right shoulder and now covered most of that side now.

"Mei Hatsume at your service," the pinked haired mechanic said with a wide grin as she extended an arm.

Tooru took it, but before shaking it, Mei pulled her in and immediately placed both her hands on her cheeks. She then said, "My you are an interesting one. Does this turn off?"

"Uh, no," Hagakure replied in slow confusion.

"Fastanaticing," Mei stated with intrigue. She then let go of the invisible girl and sped on over to beside her teacher. Hatsume then grabbed the papers next to him and spent no time scanning it over.

Tooru spoke softly, "Uraraka-chan wasn't kidding when she said Hatsume-san's hands like to roam."

"Yeah she doesn't know boundaries," Izuku whispered back.

Hagakure then asked, "She hasn't been handsy with you has she?"

Midoriya was quick to reply, "What? No of course not." Besides his first visit, Hatsume had mostly kept her hands to herself. But Izuku didn't have the nerve to tell his girlfriend what happened that day even if Mei meant well.

Hatsume then proclaimed, "Maijima-sensei! Can I move this order up on our list? This kind of material we would work with is unlike anything I've ever seen!"

"You may not. We don't favor anyone when it comes to students on the list. Besides, the girl has stated it's not urgent, so we have no reason to work on it before the others," Power Loader explained as he stood up. He then asked, "Are we clear?"

The pink haired mechanic gave a pathetic nod as her face looked of defeat.

Maijima sighed and said, "Look once the cultural festival is over, if we are not as busy I'll think about moving it up the list. But don't be hopeful; it's not a guarantee."

"Ah, thanks so much, you old fart," Hatsume stated as she hugged the pro hero.

Power Loader was shaking with rage but couldn't mutter a word and just groaned.

Hagakure giggled at the scene, and Midoriya just scratched the back of his head.

Once the student and teacher separated Mei was quick to approach Tooru and say, "I can't wait to work on your helmet. Especially the special specifications of the visor."

Midoriya then turned to his girlfriend and asked, "Helmet? Visor?"

"Not now Izuku," Hagakure said with a sigh.

"Oh, you two on a first name basis? You two must be good friends then," Hatsume stated as she started to wipe off her shirt.

Tooru crossed her arms as she said, "Oh Izuku must not have mentioned me before."

Izuku sighed as he said, "I have."

Mei then scratched her head as she stated, "Tooru. Tooru Hagakure. Nope, doesn't ring a bell."

"And as always my student doesn't care to learn people's name unless they interest her," Power Loader said with a smirk. Once everyone's attention was on him, "Unlike her, I listen. Hagakure-san is the boy's girlfriend. Best you learn her name Hatsume-san if you wish to be friends with Midoriya-kun."

"Oh yes. I vaguely remember him telling me now. Well, regardless we might need your suit or one of your contacts Hagakure-san before we begin work on this helmet. Best for us to familiarize ourselves with the material before we make some of our own," Hatsume said with glee.

Midoriya blinked a few times before asking, "Contacts? You wear contacts?"

"This girl has no filter does she," Hagakure stated with a huff.

Power Loader threw up his hands in the air as he said, "What part of the customer confidentiality agreement do you not understand!?

Confused, Mei responded with, "What? I figured Midoriya-kun would know if they are dating? I mean couples tell each other their secrets right?"

"Also lacking in common sense about relationships," Tooru stated with a sigh. She then approached the pink mechanic and said, "I'm glad you're excited about working on my request. However, I believe Izuku will need to leave early today. Goodbye." Hagakure then pulled Midoriya by the arm out of the room.

Before they left entirely, Izuku was able to say, "See you two next Tuesday."

Midoriya then heard Maijima say, "Well that couldn't have gone worse."

"Says you. I think that went well," Hatsume stated.

The rest Izuku wasn't able to hear as there was too much distance between them at that point.

"I'm surprised you're able to put up with that girl," Tooru said after a heavy exhale.

"I mean she has her quirks, but she's brilliant and is a good person when she puts her mind to it," Midoriya tried to argue.

Hagakure didn't respond to that but did let go of her boyfriend. After walking for a minute, they arrived at one of the main hallways, and she stopped to lean against the wall.

"If you don't want to talk about it I can understand if you just want to drop it," Izuku said as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"No. I should tell you. I kept it a secret for stupid reasons anyways," Tooru stated with a soft voice.

Midoriya then also leaned against the wall and said, "I promise I won't laugh."

"I wouldn't put it against you if you did," Hagakure said with a huff. She then remained silent before putting down her backpack and stated, "Transparency refracts light on all of my body which includes the everything in my eye. So when I first developed my quirk, I was completely blind."

Izuku then asked, "So right now you're wearing contacts of some sort?"

"Yeah. My dad immediately knew something was wrong when he saw me with my quirk. He was the one that found out as he was the one to wake me up that morning. When my dad makes his head invisible, he can't see anything, so he already knew I would be without sight before even waking me up," Tooru explained. She then reached over and grabbed her boyfriend's hand before saying, "It was mind-numbingly scary for those first few weeks. Not being able to see my parents, not being able to see me. But in the end, I never got to see the real me again."

Midoriya pulled her into the previous hallway and then hugged her.

The two remained silent for a while. He couldn't imagine what that would have felt for such a small child and knew that this being brought up was probably bringing back old painful memories. Izuku figured it would be best to embrace his girlfriend, not in such a busy place as before.

Eventually, Hagakure asked, "Um do you mind if I go get my backpack?"

"Oh sorry. I was just caught up in the moment and forgot about it," Midoriya answered.

"It's fine. Just give me a second," Tooru stated then left.

Izuku took a few breaths and rubbed his temple as he tried to think of what to say or ask next. But before he could come up with anything, she was already by his side again.

As Hagakure put down her backpack, she explained more by saying, "Eventually using my hair some engineers were able to make a lens that could reflect light in a way that I could see. The first ones they could make weren't that good; everything was blurry. Over the next couple of years, they made better and better lenses. By the time I was eleven they were able to make them as contacts."

Midoriya then asked, "Are your contacts see through too?"

"Only when I put them on just like my suit," Tooru answered. She then crossed her arms and said, "I didn't use it much at first cause it was irritating for my eyes, but soon I wore them any chance I got while in public. I mean I still have glasses I use when I'm in my room on my own, but I avoid using them as much as possible."

Izuku put his hand to his chin as he thought about this revelation for a minute. He then asked, "Do you not like how you look with them on?"

"They're fine it's just what they represented that I loathed," Hagakure replied while she did a soft kick against the ground. She then groaned before explaining further, "The quiet and nervous fat girl that lost the interest of her so-called friends cause the novelty of her quirk had worn off. So I after getting angry about it didn't work I decided to do something about it. Be more social. Be fit. Be happy. And the glasses were the one thing that stayed no matter how I changed, and it reminded me of before. So wearing them in public is always a trip down memory lane that I don't wanna relive."

Midoriya took a moment to think of a response before saying, "That doesn't sound like a stupid reason to not tell me Tooru. If wearing them is such a hurtful thing while in front of others then don't do it." He then put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder as he said, "And you being blind is whatever to me. It's just another interesting detail to your long list of quirks Tooru."

Tooru raised her arm and then placed a hand on Izuku's. She then responded with, "I knew you would be okay with it. You already don't mind my appearance. It's just I feel childish having such negative feelings over wearing some stupid glasses. Like right now it feels so dumb that I feel this way but every time I try and put them on outside in front of others things just come flooding back." Hagakure then sighed and reached down to grab her backpack and then stated, "We should go. It's probably time to start heading to dinner."

The invisible girl started to walk back towards the main hallway, and Midoriya followed right behind her. They remained quiet as they walked along a sea of students that were also going to dinner.

Izuku knew she was going through a lot right now talking about this, but it felt wrong to end it on just this. He caught up to Tooru and came up to her left to say, "It doesn't have to be any time soon, but I'd like to see you wearing glasses one day."

Midoriya then felt Hagakure grab his right hand and then heard her say, "We'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

Izuku took hold of the doorknob and resisted an urge to knock the door. He wished to give five knocks, hear two on the other side of the door, and then jiggle the doorknob before being let in. If it were as so, that would mean All Might was still trying to be secretive about his state. It would mean his idol would still be a pro hero.

But instead it was just a dull opening of the door, but at least the smiling face of Yagi made Midoriya's sad thoughts disappear.

"Afternoon kid, thanks for coming on such short notice," All Might stated while handing his student a mug. He then asked, "Tea?"

Izuku excitingly responded, "Yes please!"

Toshinori liked to serve lemon honey tea to his student. At first, it made the boy confused as it was such a sweet drink. It didn't fit the image for such a large and muscular hero, but Midoriya quickly learned it fit his mentor quite well.

Both teacher and student took a few sips before All Might coughed a bit. After wiping his mouth, he said, "Anyways I thought I should tell you that because of the TAC meetings we will be meeting less for private lessons once the cultural festival is over."

Midoriya didn't expect this at all. He took another sip of his tea before asking, "Are hoping the team training will replace it entirely?"

Yagi shook his head and said, "No. There will be things we need to do privately, but I think it would be best that we delegate most of it to our Monday meetings. They will be more often than we were able to meet, we'll have the guidance of your homeroom teacher too, and you won't have to go at it alone cause you'll have the help and support of your friends."

"I understand sir. And thanks," Izuku replied with a grin. At first, the idea scared the boy, but after hearing his idol's explanation, he couldn't argue against the idea.

Toshinori gulped some tea down before stating, "I saw that you submitted an item request to the support department. That's an interesting device you have planned."

The two then discussed the specifics of it for the next couple of minutes. Midoriya was hesitant to tell All Might about everything he had learned about Hagakure that day. Perhaps another day, he thought. The talk was very revealing however to Izuku, as his mentor had mentioned that he tried to use support equipment before. However, even at 20-30% power, the gear he wore would break down too quickly. Midoriya had no idea All Might ever had worn such equipment. He was urged to pull out his phone right there to look it up, but he held himself back.

"Well, hopefully, it will be ready before our next TAC meeting. Seeing it in action will be a treat I'm sure," the former pro hero stated after finishing his tea.

As Izuku finished his tea, he thought back to his homeroom teacher's behavior the last few Mondays. He then cleared his throat and asked, "Sir, is everything alright between you and Aizawa-sensei?"

Toshinori crossed his arms and sighed as he said, "We have our respective views which do tend to clash often but don't be too hasty in judging his behavior too harshly. He's been under a lot of stress lately, well more than usual. Regardless, I can attest he is dedicated to helping you and your friends with this special training."

Midoriya then asked, "You're sure he wants to be part of TAC?"

Yagi responded with, "Still unsure huh. I got a story that happened back during the summer. Maybe that will help here." He then leaned forward and clasped his hands together before explaining further by saying, "Back when we were making house visits we started by visiting each household together. After visiting the Jiro family first, Aizawa-san suggested buying me a drink. I, of course, declined because of my condition at the time and well I rarely drink in the first place but after we visited everyone in convinced me to go to bar."

Izuku was quick to ask, "Wait you didn't actually drink did you?"

"Just some soda I swear," Toshinori replied while waving one his hands. He then exhaled loudly before explaining further with, "Things were awkward at first. I tried giving drinks to Aizawa-san to loosen him up a bit. We were going to be working together a lot more since I was retiring so I wanted to get to know him better. But he seemed like his usual self after a couple."

All Might scratched the back of his head as said, "But soon things got out of control. First, it started with Present Mic, Midnight, and Thirteen showing up. And then I swear most of U.A.'s pro hero faculty was there. They all wanted a chance to share a drink with me since I never do such things, but it was pure chaos. Midnight was mixing drinks and shoving them down Mic's throat. Thirteen was puking. Aizawa-san had mistaken me as a Daruma statue and was arguing with Vlad King about who's students were better."

"I'm confused on how this proves Aizawa-sensei means well," Midoriya stated as he shrugged.

"The point is at what state Aizawa-san was in to be more open with me. He's a hard nut to crack," Yagi responded as he sighed. He then said, "At one point I tried to leave as everything was getting a bit too crazy for me, but Aizawa-san asked me to stay so he could thank me for saving his students. Though at this part he started to confuse me with the Daruma statue. And sometime later someone knocked it down in their drunkness, and Aizawa-san was concerned that I had fallen and was injured. So he cares. Just isn't the best at showing it."

As convoluted as the story was for Izuku, All Might was right about Eraserhead. But there was still the matter of what was stressing him out so much as of late.

"It was also a good reason for you to avoid alcohol young Midoriya. It even turns adults into idiots," Toshinori stated as he shook his head.

"Of course," Midoriya replied with a light chuckle. He had no interest in the stuff, but it was funny to hear his idol give such obvious advice to a kid after such a tale. Once Izuku calmed down he asked, "What exactly has got Aizawa-sensei so bothered?"

The former pro hero's face turned to confusion. After a few moments, he then said, "First, the drinking night stays in this room and what comes next."

"Right," Midoriya was quick to say.

"It seems men and women at the federal level have been hounding him with questions and statements. It seems to be related to a villain that he encountered in his earlier years as a pro hero. Aizawa-san has tried to be as helpful as he can, but that doesn't seem to be enough to those asking the questions," Yagi explained.

Izuku tilted his head as he asked, "That bad?"

"Yes. It's one thing when the local government is putting pressure on you. A whole other deal when the highest forms of government in our country is breathing down your neck," All Might answered as he stroked the back of his neck. He then sighed and stated, "I'm sure if you give him a few weeks they'll back off once they realize that have everything that can get out of him. That's how they usually operate."

The teacher then stood up and said, "I think that's enough for tonight."

The two said their goodbyes and separated from there.

As Midoriya made his way back to the dorms, he thought of what he had just been told. Was Eraserhead really in that deep with the government? Who was this villain? And why was he being questioned now? Nothing came to mind to answer any of these questions.

Instead, as Izuku's dorm came into view, another train of thought entered his mind. His date tomorrow.

Tomorrow would be Sunday, another date with Tooru. One where she got to do whatever she wanted, but she would be paying for everything. Both excitement and anxiety filled Midoriya. He thought the out-of-nowhere meeting with All Might after dinner would calm his nerves, but it had no such effect.

And just as Izuku stepped onto the stairs to the stairs to the 1A dorm his phone rang.

* * *

Izuku rounded a corner on to a busy street. He stopped walking and looked across the street and still had mixed feelings about what he was seeing.

There in front of a burger joint was Mirio Togata. He was currently leaning against the building and was occupied by his phone.

Today was supposed to be Midoriya's time alone with his girlfriend, but a snag in that plan came up from a call from Togata last night. The former student insisted they have lunch together today. When Izuku tried to say he couldn't cause of his date with Tooru, Mirio became ecstatic at the news and insisted on being introduced to her over a meal.

Midoriya just didn't have the heart to say no. Was it pity? Was it cause of respect? He was still wasn't sure.

Telling Tooru over the phone just hours ago about the change in plans scared Izuku shitless. Surprisingly though, minus a long sigh, the girl put up no quarrel over the addition. As long as it was just lunch, Hagakure seemed okay with the plan. But Midoriya had doubts. Either way, he would find out soon.

"There you are Midoriya-kun!"

Mirio had finally noticed Izuku standing across the street.

Midoriya gave a soft wave and then approached Togata.

As Izuku arrived, Mirio put a hand to his chin as he said, "No girl by your side. Did she not agree to come? Or were you lying to me?"

Before Midoriya could even respond, however, Togata gave a soft punch to the teen's shoulder and stated, "I'm just joking. The look on your face that split second was priceless though."

He was always an odd one, Izuku thought to himself. He then said, "She needed to buy some stuff, so she left U.A. right after breakfast."

Tooru had mentioned she was buying "unmentionables" over the phone, so her boyfriend naturally declined to come with her. Her original plan for the date was to have lunch together and then go from there, so she was okay with it. Midoriya could tell she was teasing him but was curious what Hagakure would have done if he had said yes.

Izuku then felt a slap on his back as Mirio asked, "So how you been? Not too busy I hope."

"Very busy I'm afraid, but it's been a nice change of pace with all the preparing for the cultural festival," Midoriya responded.

"Well in that sense work as hard as you can. We don't want to disappoint Eri-chan," Togata said with a grin across his face.

Izuku nodded as he replied, "Of course. We need to cheer her up and show her there's more to the world than what she's experienced growing up."

"That's the spirit. Now let's get us some seats while we wait for the others," Mirio said.

Midoriya was quick to ask, "Others? Who else is coming besides my girlfriend?"

Togata just gave a smug smirk and didn't answer.

The two acquired a booth and waited a few minutes until Hagakure arrived.

"Afternoon boys," Tooru stated as she approached. She then reached out an arm towards Izuku and said, "Our greeting."

Hagakure was wearing a purple shirt with thin red stripes running horizontally and khaki pants. Today her wristbands were different colors, green on the right wrist and red on the left. She also had a new purse, dark purple with a small green bear figurine hanging off to the side.

Midoriya had almost forgotten about their agreement when meeting outside of school to prove they were truly one another. He then reached out and grabbed Hagakure's fist and gave it a shake. "Thanks for remembering Tooru," Izuku said as she brought her into a quick hug.

"Well, this is many things," Mirio stated.

Hagakure coughed and gave a slight bow as she said, "You must be Togata-san. Izuku has spoken a lot about you."

Togata shrugged as he replied, "Hopefully good things."

"Izuku did say you were a particular fellow," Tooru stated as she and her boyfriend took a seat next to one another.

"What's more particular is you Hagakure-san," Mirio said as he pointed at the invisible girl. He then continued by saying, "To be fair I thought you didn't exist at first as Midoriya-kun never mentioned you until I called him last night. Though here you are. I guess I was sort of right considering your quirk."

"So you're a jokester. You remind me of a friend of mine. He's annoying at times but usually means well," Hagakure responded.

Togata was quick to reply with, "Ah, but is he as handsome as me?"

"You're both pretty average in looks. Nothing special but then that's not too important," Tooru answered with a bit of sass in her voice.

Mirio looked to Izuku and said, "I like her Midoriya-kun. She's a keeper."

"Uh, thanks Togata-senpai," Midoriya stated in a confused tone. This exchange between his girlfriend and friend felt like some weird sizing each other up.

"Come on now, no need for calling me senpai. I'm not a student anymore," Togata stated while crossing his arms.

"There was no need to make the conversation turn morbid Mirio-kun. You'll get your quirk back one of these days," came a voice from Izuku's right.

It was Tamaki Amajiki, another of the big three, well big two now. Midoriya didn't know much about him since he worked with a different pro hero. All he knew were small tidbits from Kirishima praising him back during the internships.

"Your late Tamaki-kun," Togata stated.

"The streets were more c-crowded than usual, so it made coming here h-harder," Amajiki replied as he hung his head slightly. He then looked around and asked, "Is Hado-chan late too or is she not coming?"

"Nah, she wanted to focus on working with her dress with Haya-san," Mirio responded.

Tooru then spoke up and asked, "Oh is Hado-san entering the beauty pageant?"

As Tamaki took a seat by his friend, he answered with, "For the third year in a row. She's hellbent on winning this time." He then grabbed a menu and placed it in front of his face to hide it from the couple.

"Good idea Tamaki-kun, we should get to ordering our food," Togata stated.

For the next few minutes, the four considered their options and eventually ordered. Izuku ordered a sanuki udon burger (deep fried udon with a soft boiled egg on a chicken patty). A chicken katsu rice burger (rice buns with chicken, curry, and lettuce) for Tooru. Saikyo-yaki no saikyo burger (grilled fish marinated in white miso with onions, tomatoes, and pickles) for Mirio. And a french cruller burger (donut buns with chorizo sausage, onions, a tomato, and lettuce) for Tamaki.

Once everything was ordered, Hagakure asked, "So Togata-san, why did you invite us here despite our already planned date?"

"Well, when I thought about, Midoriya-kun and I haven't done anything to get to know each other better outside of hero work. I mean sure we did spend some together with Eri-chan a few weeks ago but that wasn't enough for me. Plus once I heard about the date, it seemed like an obvious time to hang out, even if just over lunch," Togata explained.

Amajiki cleared his throat as he asked, "I mean I don't mind being here Mirio-kun, but why invite me?" He was hiding behind his menu still as he asked to keep it even after they all had ordered.

The former U.A. student then made a face as if he was deep in thought. However, within seconds, he shrugged.

"Of course," Tamaki as he laid his forehead on the table and then groaned.

Mirio then asked the story behind how the couple met. The explanation the two gave also included an abridged version of Tooru's birthday. By the time they were finished the food had arrived.

As they all ate, Togata explained how he and Amajiki became best friends. From bonding over their passion for heroes in third grade, to struggling to control their quirks in middle school and eventually rising to the top three in U.A. with Hado.

Once Hagakure finished her burger she asked, "So what's your plan if you don't get your quirk back Togata-san?"

Izuku and Tamaki stopped chewing their food and then looked to Mirio who had his mouth currently full of burger. He held up his index finger on his right hand as he chewed and swallowed his food. After taking a gulp of his soda, he responded with, "Try and be a firefighter."

With shock in his tone, Amajiki stated, "T-This is the f-first time I'm h-hearing this!" By this point, Togata swiped his friend's menu from him so he would be more social.

"I mean, it's been my back up plan for a long while if I never got to be a pro hero. My dad wanted to be sure I had another goal just in case I wasn't good enough for the field. I mean that was during a time that my control and technique with Permeation was piss-poor so it wasn't wrong to be thinking about things realistically," Mirio explained.

"I guess you can still save a lot of people with such a job," Izuku stated.

"Exactly. My grades are not good enough for me a doctor. The police lack the power to do much without heroes. Being a politician is just not me. So I figured my quirk would work well being a firefighter if not a hero. Even though I'm still quirkless now, such a position does interests me," Togata said before finishing the rest of his drink. However, he then stood up and stated, "Bathroom!"

After the exit, Hagakure sighed and asked, "Is he always like this?"

Amajiki replied with his head faced down on the table, "Sporadic and hard to follow? Yeah." He then groaned and explained further, "Ever since we became friends with Hado-chan, Mirio-kun started inviting us to hang out. They were always last minute, so sometimes one of us couldn't come. On occasion, even Mirio-kun wouldn't show up and left me alone with Hado-chan."

"You remind me of Izuku when I first met him, Amajiki-san," Tooru said as she put aside her plate and an empty glass.

Tamaki turned his head up, allowing his right eye to be visible as he looked at the invisible girl but remained quiet.

"You're shy around people and lack confidence in your quirk. That was Izuku at the start of our school year. He's still struggling at times with both, but he's come a long way in the seven months I've known him."

The third-year student raised his head off the table as he asked, "Your point?"

Hagakure answered, "You're now a top student at U.A. despite these qualities. I'm sure those flaws used to be an even bigger issue before you met Togata-san. Am I right?"

Tamaki nodded and was now in a proper sitting position.

"It just reminded me of how things progressed with Izuku when he met me is all. And considering everything you've accomplished Togata-san, he seems like the perfect friend for you Amajiki-san." Tooru said with confidence.

Amajiki exhaled before saying, "Mirio-kun has given nothing but praise for Midoriya-san. It was hard for me to understand why he was showing so much interest for an underclassman. Just like I always questioned why he wanted to be friends with such a loser like me." He then gave a soft smile as he continued, "I wonder if he saw a bit of me in you, Midoriya-san. A confused and shy child with a great passion for the society of heroes. A child that would do anything to be a part of that society."

Before Izuku could respond, however, Tooru said, "You have a way with words too." She then draped an arm over her boyfriend as she said, "That just means my Izuku here has to follow the trend and become a top student for U.A. once we are third years."

"You're too kind. Both of you," Midoriya said as his face reddened slightly. Again, so much praise from those around him and he couldn't think up of a response cause of the sweetness of the moment.

Suddenly a voice from his right proclaimed, "I have returned from the bathroom!"

Mirio moved back into his seat and said, "Tamaki-kun your face isn't plastered to the table. Did you already open up to these two?"

"I'll admit, they're an interesting bunch," Tamaki replied.

The former student then fist-pumped as he said, "I knew inviting you would be a good idea." He cleared his throat and pulled out his wallet before saying, "Thank you both for coming today. I'll take care of the bill."

"You don't have to Togata-kun." Izuku protested as he stood up.

Mirio shook his head as he responded with, "No can do pal, I insist. Besides I've kept you long enough today. You two go enjoy the rest of your date." He then extended an arm and said, "You surprised me today Hagakure-san. You existing, your appearance, and your personality. Midoriya-kun is in good hands. Oh and sorry about knocking you out at the start of this term."

Tooru shook his hand as she said, "Well to be fair you beat up everyone in my class including my boyfriend."

Togata let out a hearty laugh that echoed throughout the restaurant. "That I did."

The couple said their goodbyes and then left quickly on Hagakure's insistence.

Midoriya asked, "What's the rush?"

As Tooru pulled her boyfriend along, she responded with, "Well if we want to stick to my plan then we need to book it to the next location so get moving!"

* * *

Izuku walked outside the building and groaned.

It just had to be another horror movie.

But Midoriya couldn't blame Hagakure for wanting to go. All the Halloween movies were starting to release with the holiday just around the corner.

This time the movie centered around a group of teenagers being terrorized by villains with monstrous mutant quirks. It was bloody, over the top in logic, and cringy for Izuku but Tooru enjoyed every second so he couldn't complain.

"Your reactions alone were worth it!" Hagakure stated as she clung to her boyfriend's left arm.

"Well as long as you have fun Tooru, I can take it," Midoriya replied.

Hagakure then took an immediate left and stated, "Cmon this way for the next destination!"

Izuku asked, "Where to?"

"Izuku, you should know how I operate by now," Tooru answered with a huff.

"Right, a surprise," Midoriya said while scratching the back of his head with his free hand.

The two walked and talked about the movie for a few minutes before Izuku switched the conversation by saying, "I thought you were gonna be against Togata-kun wanting to have lunch with us today."

"If anything, the short notice of it all was the only part that bothered me," Tooru responded with a groan. She then exhaled and continued by saying, "You look up to him Izuku. I mean you almost willingly gave Togata-san your quirk and gave up your dream. Of course, I would want to see such a person that my boyfriend would put so much faith into."

Hagakure then laughed before stating, "Though to be fair I ended up liking his friend more. It's hard to take Togata seriously when he's such a goofball."

"I was having a hard time telling if you liked him or didn't. It's tough to read you sometimes, Tooru." Midoriya said with a sigh.

Tooru jokingly replied, "Oh other than just my face?"

"That just compounds the issue," Izuku responded with a groan.

"I like that part of me. Always keep people guessing. It's no fun if people can easily read me," Hagakure stated with confidence. She then stopped and said, "We're here."

Izuku looked up to see a sign saying Heroic Treats. Is this some dessert place?

"You're gonna love this," Tooru stated with glee. She then brought him to a table by the side, and they took their seats.

Midoriya grabbed a menu and was astounded at what he was seeing. All the items here were pro hero themed. The heroes were usually paired with a certain dessert based on their color. The one that immediately caught Izuku's attention was a Kamui Woods themed mint chocolate chip parfait.

Izuku then asked, "How did you learn of this place?"

"My dad mentioned it to me over the phone a few weeks ago. It had just opened then, and he was interested in going with me sometime. I said I would scout it out with you to see if it was worth it, but I knew you would be ecstatic to come here." Tooru explained.

"I am. This is wonderful," Midoriya stated. He then paused and asked, "But won't this get in the way of dinner later?"

"Dinner is gonna be a bit later than usual. I wanted us to do some window shopping after this and then head back to U.A. for a home cooked meal," Hagakure answered.

"Let me guess. Uraraka-chan and Ida-kun are preparing it?" Izuku asked he laid his menu down.

Tooru picked up her menu as she answered, "Of course! Though I have no idea what they are cooking up. That will be a surprise for both of us."

The two then ordered their treats. Midoriya decided to go with his initial choice and Hagakure chose All Might themed pumpkin toffee caramel parfait. The waiter did say there would be a wait as the place was packed, but the couple had no quarrels about waiting.

Once the waiter left, Tooru said, "You know I never did mention to you what I learned from Todoroki-kun."

It took a moment, but Izuku then remembered and asked, "About the re-test?"

"Yeah. I wanted to hear what Bakugo-san went through to pass it, so I helped Kirishima-kun in asking," Hagakure answered. She then giggled and said, "I understand why he wanted no one to know because babysitting some young kids probably wasn't his ideal way to be tested."

Midoriya scratched his head as he said, "Kacchan babysitting? That does sound demeaning to him."

"Todoroki-kun explained their instructor stated they were physically capable of passing any test he could throw at them. What they needed, and why the failure had nothing to do with that though, hence this test," Tooru said as she brought up her purse. As she opened it she said, "The kids were unruly apparently, and while the others used their quirks entertain the kids, Bakugo-san was able to subdue their ringleader with some choice words that were not focused on intimidation."

"That's great to hear," Izuku stated with a grin.

Hagakure sighed as she said, "It's why I was nice to him that night. Hopefully, stuff like that continues."

"Thanks for telling me Tooru," Midoriya said with a grin.

Tooru then took out a small but long case from her purse.

Izuku asked, "What is it that?"

"These," Hagakure stated as she opened the case and placed some glasses on the table.

Midoriya gulped before saying, "I didn't expect this so quickly."

"I'm not ready to wear them in such a place, but I thought showing you it wouldn't be too difficult," Tooru said slowly.

Izuku then asked, "Can I?"

"Sure," Hagakure stated.

Midoriya took the glasses and started to look at it in detail. They were full vue type and had a gold frame but the most interesting part was the lens. From the front, they looked normal. But from the other side, they had an odd blur effect like a window with a privacy film over it.

"You can wear them if you like," Tooru said.

Unlike her, Izuku knew he was easy to read and just accepted it. Once he put on the glasses though he was confused. All he saw was grey blobs in front of him. Objects being darker or lighter shades of said color.

Midoriya then heard a click and took off the glasses to see Tooru holding her phone up. She then said, "You know you don't look half bad with them on."

Hagakure then offered her phone to show her boyfriend. He expected to see an odd image, but it was just him with glasses on. Nothing out of the ordinary. Though he guessed that was their purpose. Otherwise, it would draw even more attention to her if the glasses looked weird to those looking at them from the front. Also, the image of only her eyeballs showing would be quite horrific.

"There are lots of years and hard work put into these," Izuku said as he handed back the glasses to his girlfriend.

"They still send me new ones from time to time," Tooru explained as she put them away. "I was given these just before I started at this term. Apparently, these are better with sun glare, but I never wear them outside. I guess it's the thought that counts that somebody out there still bothers to improve these for me without even requesting it."

A thought then came to Izuku, and he asked, "So if you wear contacts, why do you wear a sleeping mask at night? I thought contacts can't be worn all the time. Isn't the best time to not wear them at night?"

"It was like that at first. But putting them on has always been difficult, and over time they made more advanced contacts for me to wear. Now I can wear the same pair for about a month all day long as I please. The eternal struggle of waking up blind each morning to put on contacts is a thing of the past," Hagakure explained.

Trying his luck, Midoriya then asked, "Alright, then why are you having a helmet made with a visor like your glasses if you already wear contacts?"

"Contacts can be knocked out during a battle. Glasses are even worse. I can't understand how Ida stands wearing glasses during combat. He needs his peripheral vision," Hagakure explained. She then put down her purse and said, "I'm surprised you didn't ask for what purpose it had."

"Well I figured you wanted to surprise our friends and me whenever it gets done," Izuku said.

"While true I thought your curiosity would get to best of you since you know it exists."

Midoriya shrugged and stated, "It's tempting, but I can wait."

Hagakure smirked mischievously, "Well, it will knock your socks off when it's done. Though I'm more interested in seeing Ojiro-kun's reaction."

The parfaits then arrived and Izuku marveled at what he was seeing. His choice of dessert had two mint cookies on top, one designed like Kamui Wood's mask and another that looked like a tree branch. Tooru's was had two orange slices shaped like All Might's signature hair bangs place on top.

Before Midoriya could dig in, however, an idea popped into his head. He cleared his throat and then asked, "Tooru, would mind if we gave each other a taste of our dessert?"

Hagakure curiously asked, "Like feed one another?"

"Just one bite at the same time, yes," Izuku answered.

"Well this is sudden," Tooru stated as she put down her spoon.

"It just popped into my head," Midoriya replied with a slight blush.

Hagakure giggled and then said, "Well I love the idea. Now open wide!"

* * *

 **Hey, an update!**

 **After 2 months...**

 **I initially wanted to release on Christmas, like last time with chapter 16 but ran into some huge problems with the last two scenes plus some pacing issues that came up when going through another planning do-over of chapter 28 and 29. They've all been resolved now but between the holidays, work (actually had a lot of contract work this year), and writer's block it did delay things significantly. I'll talk about schedule stuff at the end but let's switch focus on to the chapter for now.**

 **So with the first scene, I wanted to do something different with the TAC meeting. Plus it allowed me to foreshadow some manga content in the Joint Training arc. Writing fight scene after fight scene every chapter just isn't in me right now, but it has made me more comfortable writing them, so that's a plus. A change here from the manga is that while Ojiro did obtain fingerless gloves in the manga (which we don't know what for yet) I've made them full on gloves with a purpose.**

 **So a major change from the manga in the second scene is we removed All Might and Izuku training in the forest and Mei stumbling upon them. Because of the TAC meetings, and the difference in Mei's relationship with Izuku, I wanted to do something different. Plus this scene was a different way to have another perk of Tooru's quirk to come to light compared to previous ones.**

 **The All Might scene was meant to cover various topics: cap off the loose ends from the change from the manga covered in the last scene, set us straight on the status All Might's private lessons with Izuku, and somewhat explain Eraserhead's behavior during the TAC meetings. The part about all the teachers getting drunk is taken from the light volume as well (volume three, chapter one). I'll be using volume three one last time with the next chapter so look forward to that!**

 **Part one of the dating scene was so I could finally get some use of Mirio. And why not throw in Tamaki for good measure you know? I felt the former will still be relevant at some point going forward so might as well use him in this story. Regardless this scene went through more rewrites than any other scene than I've ever written. First, it was only Mirio, then all of the big three, but eventually it settled on just those two. I wrote the entire scene about ten times and scrapped about 80% of it each time, it was a nightmare. I hope it was worth it...**

 **The ice cream part of the dating scene between our couple was inspired by the art commission I did with BlamedOrange back in September. It felt too good to not use! I also wanted to revisit the whole "blind" thing once more before shelving it for later.**

 **Night Foliage has edited both chapter 15 and 16. They had 89 and 43 edits respectively. Also, I need to give a shout out to my spot editor Cleric of Nayru. He came up with the chapter name as I was stumped what to use for the first time.**

 **I have another IzuTooru story to promote that started in late November. Exclusive on Ao3, Now You See Me is a fic from Tooru's point of view and I offer you all to check it out. It was made by AzureFireHawk, another acquaintance I have made from the MinaDeku discord.**

 **So yeah, Tumblr. :x**

 **If you wanna see my full stance just check out just before Post 26 on Tumblr. I haven't left it but I am now cross-posting my commissions on to Twitter (crazy_man185) now if I ever decide to drop it. Due to text limits, I'll keep my long posts on Tumblr. Twitter will just be for my commissions, Cubicity chapter updates, and chapter postings for now. I probably won't be sharing much if at all, for now, other people's stuff as I do on Tumblr.**

 **For December, commissions galore as you could already tell if you looked at Post 25 on Tumblr. First I joined in on two Secret Santas, on the reddit MHA shipping sub and Kacchako discord. The former had me do a KiriBaku piece by madreyarts (first gay commission I've done, so that was fun) and the latter, of course, a Kacchako piece by orriians. What I received from others was an IdaOcha oneshot called Periwinkle (only on Ao3) made by TheRedScarf and then three art pieces (Kacchako and then some cute Todoroki and Koda art) plus a Kacchako oneshot called Perfect For You (only on Ao3) all by Fumiku. Next, I wanted to something for the three current ships in Cubicity, but with a holiday theme. So I commissioned hazel0219 (Tumblr and Twitter) to do a triple piece depicting all three couples doing something different, and that released on Christmas. Then all of the sudden erijaime opened up their commissions so I had to jump on the chance to send a request, a Momo x Mashirao piece! And finally, while it won't release until later this month, I did a commission request for a friend's birthday coming up for a crackship he started that's slowly been growing on me. I'm gonna take a break from commissions after this for a couple of months (unless BNHA-bitch opens their commissions again). Five commissions in one month is just a bit too much...**

 **So about the next chapter...**

 **28 and 29 were originally going to cover the last two weeks before the cultural festival but after a lot of debating and some writing, I decided 28 will cover it all. I was worried if I wouldn't have enough material for the two chapters and even cut a scene from this chapter (which is fully written) to give enough content. So a decent amount of 28 is actually written as I wanted to be sure it would be enough. Hopefully, this also means we can return to a regular schedule soon. The next chapter will focus mostly on side characters, don't expect much Tooru.**

 **Chapter 28 is planned to release February 11th!**


	28. Festival Looms

Chapter 28: Festival Looms

"Ah, there you are Midoriya-san. Sorry for the sudden text but I couldn't wait until tomorrow," Power Loader said. He pat the student's back and then both started to head to the workshop.

Midoriya then asked, "How did you even get my number sir?" Something didn't add up when Izuku received a message from Power Loader just before class. He knew that teachers would have access to his mother's number but not his. All Might wouldn't share it with anyone, except maybe Aizawa. His mentor had only recently learned of his successor's Tuesday visits to the Development Studio as well. The teacher had asked Midoriya to meet him after school but didn't state anything else.

The pro hero then stopped and scratched the back of his head as he said, "That isn't important now. The issue is that Hatsume-san is starting to worry me, more than usual. She's becoming too obsessed with her project for the festival."

Izuku was quick to ask, "Hatsume-chan hasn't hurt herself has she?"

"No, but I'm worried about her mental state. And her cleanliness," Maijima stated as he began to walk again.

Midoriya decided it was best to see what the engineer meant before asking more questions and followed. He entered the Development Studio to find number 202 looking radically different. It hadn't been a week since Izuku last saw it. For one it was bigger and now its legs had been replaced by wheels. The paint job looked and faceplate looked nothing like before.

Izuku then noticed the lack of Mei in the room but had a hunch at where she was. He then put down his backpack on a table to his right and then walked forward until he was in front of the hulking machine. He then shouted, "Hatsume-chan!"

A rustling sound came within 202. After a few moments, Mei's face popped out from one of the robot's eye sockets. Her forehead, right cheek, and hair had various dirt plus oil stains. Izuku also had never seen his friend have such unruly hair. The whole image only got worse as the pink haired mechanic climbed out of her project.

"Is it Tuesday already Midoriya-kun? I must be losing my sense of time," Hatsume stated as she began to descend from 202.

While rubbing his forehead, Midoriya responded with, "It's still Monday."

"Oh good, I was worried it was. It means I have more time to work then," Mei said as she planted her feet on the floor.

Now in full view, Izuku was truly understanding what Power Loader was talking about. His friend was still wearing the same clothes from his visit last week. He could tell cause the large stain she received then was still there, plus various new ones. The stench too was unbearable. Midoriya needed to keep a hand over his face.

"Give me a moment. I need to juice up before I start again," Hatsume stated as she rushed by her friend to her room.

Maijima made his way over and said, "See what I mean?"

Izuku was quick to ask, "You haven't tried to stop her?"

The pro hero then explained, "My philosophy is that as long as a student is safe and legal about it I won't interfere in their pursuit of knowledge or craft. Hatsume is still functional as she is now so I haven't stepped in. I just fear that if it comes to the point that she isn't a state to be doing this that I won't be able to convince her peacefully. That girl will fight tooth and nail for her 'babies' if need be."

The sound of Mei's voice suddenly came from behind the two, "Hey Maijima-sensei where is the extra coffee grinds? I'm out!"

"Under the microwave in my room. Don't touch my Jamaican Blue Mountain blend though! That stuff isn't cheap," Power Loader answered.

Hatsume groaned, "No need to worry sensei. That stuff of yours is so mild I'd never want to drink it a second time."

Under his breath, Maijima stated, "Cause you only care for the caffeine in coffee, not the taste." He then cleared his throat and said, "So yeah, that's the situation. I think you might be able to convince her to tone back her current work ethic. I'd rather do this peacefully than with force as well."

Midoriya took a few seconds to think about it before asking, "Any suggestions on how?"

The pro hero thought for a few moments before explaining, "Bargain with her. Offering her some deal or trade has worked in the past with me, though this time I think all my usual offers would fall on deaf ears."

Izuku nodded and then said, "I'll think of something." He then saw Mei come out of her mentor's room with a bag of coffee grinds in one hand and then walk into her own place. Midoriya took a few deep breaths then approached her door. After giving a knock, he asked, "Hatsume-chan can we talk?"

"Just a minute."

Izuku spent said minute going through ideas of what to entice his friend to take a much-needed bath and rest. Just as he was on the cusp of a plan, Mei swiftly stepped out and closed the door behind her.

"The coffee will just need a bit before it's ready then back to work for both of us. I have some ways you could help this afternoon!"

Midoriya then said, "Sure, but Hatsume-chan when was the last time you slept if you are needing to drink the stuff this late in the day?"

"Every night, I'm fine Midoriya-kun," the pink haired engineer responded while waving her right hand to dismiss the question.

A cough from across the room got both of the teen's attention. It was Power Loader. He then stated, "Yeah one to two hour power naps."

"I don't have time to sleep! Just like the Hero Festival, this is my chance to show myself to the world. But unlike last time with the general public that can easily be dazzled by a bunch of my babies, I will have a much smaller and sophisticated audience so I need to have a perfect baby to show my skills," Mei ranted.

"But your health," Izuku tried to argue.

Hatsume huffed before saying, "You only live once. Plus that's rich coming from the guy who used to break his bones using his quirk too much. Another two weeks of this isn't gonna cause irreversible damage to me or anything."

Midoriya sighed. She did have a point. He then said, "Fine I'll join you in your work once you have your drink. I just need to tell Tooru I won't see her until dinner." As he pulled out his phone, Mei returned to her room. It didn't take long for Tooru to respond.

"What's up?"

"I have a favor to ask," Izuku answered.

There was a pause before Hagakure stated, "I'm listening."

Midoriya did his best to explain the situation over the next few minutes. Just as Hatsume stepped out of her room with a cup of coffee, he got to the point of the matter, "I think I can convince her to bathe and sleep properly if I promise you'll spend some time with her to explain how your quirk and suit functions. She was ecstatic about getting to work with you last week."

Izuku expected resistance or Tooru needing time to process what was just said. Instead, she said, "Can do."

Suddenly the door to the Development Studio slid open and Hagakure stepped inside.

Midoriya threw his hands up as he asked, "Wait you were outside the entire time!?"

"We usually walk back to the dorms together after school. You suddenly leaving without a word meant something was up. I guessed it had something to do with Hatsume-san so I decided to just wait outside until you were done," Tooru explained. She then turned towards Mei, who just chugged her mug of coffee, and stated, "You weren't kidding though, she looks terrible."

"Yeah it's bad, but um, you sure accepted my request quickly," Midoriya said.

Hagakure exhaled before stating, "She's your friend and you wanna help any way you can. I should be supportive of that. Besides, our introduction could have gone better and I want to fix that." She then walked forward and greeted and began to talk to Hatsume who was already beginning to climb 202 to work once more.

"As much as I would love to Hagakure-san, Maijima-sensei said I needed to focus on my project for the cultural festival," Mei stated just as she was about to crawl through her robot's eye socket once more.

From across the room Power Loader yelled, "I'll make an exception today."

Hatsume stopped in her tracks and rushed to her teacher asking, "Wait? You will?"

"Today only," the pro hero stated, unphased by nearly being tackled by his student.

Mei was quick to hug her mentor, which disgusted him for multiple reasons. She then released him and ran over to a nearby desk. Hatsume then pulled out a notebook and pencil and said, "Let's start with the specifics of your quirk."

"Actually I thought maybe we could discuss this over a shower," Tooru stated while placing a hand on Hatsume's shoulder.

"Uh, sure," Hatsume replied with a confused expression.

Izuku said nothing to his girlfriend's method here but the thought of this did make his cheeks glow crimson.

* * *

Midoriya looked at his phone in disappointment.

A news blog was open on his browser app.

 _No results._

Also, the YouTube app was open.

 _No new videos._

I guess this is what I get for not waiting till Sunday, Izuku thought. It's only Wednesday.

Midoriya let himself fall back into his bed and sighed. It was unnerving this week. Two weekends ago while doing his usual Sunday viewing of the hero news blogs, he accidentally pressed a video link to an odd villain. He called himself Gentle Criminal and supposedly had been active for over four years. At first, Izuku couldn't understand why he had never heard of this villain and why he just made the news. That was until he dug further.

Gentle was an internet celebrity, specifically on YouTube. Though he was famous in a negative light as viewers saw his antics as lame. The only reason he was featured on the news blogs was cause he recently took on five pro heroes and won. But even then it was hard for people to take Gentle seriously. He wore a refined purple and white costume with a cane as if he was a part of European nobility. It made him appear like a vampire though with it's enlarged collar and coattails. Gentle's antics were also relatively small crimes compared to more prolific criminals from what Midoriya could tell. The villain also uploaded various videos of just drinking tea. One even Izuku recognized one as Imperial Golden Tips, cause Momo mentioned learning to brew it from her mother.

There hadn't been any new news of the electric villain Midoriya had been keeping an eye on. But this Gentle Criminal for some reason had slowly captured his attention. Was it his goofy but chivalrous behavior? Was it cause he was interested to know how Gentle could defeat so many pro heroes alone? Was this just a filler until the electric villain reemerged? Or was he becoming restless from all the daily dance training he was doing? Either way, it had Izuku almost checking in daily to see if the former had made the news or the latter had uploaded a new video.

Today, there was nothing for either. Midoriya thought, now what? He wasn't in the mood to study, which felt odd. Perhaps it was due to exhaustion from dancing so much? Ashido was putting him through the wringer. It was almost past 10 pm so he didn't want to bother his girlfriend with another kiss practice. Even if it wasn't late Izuku didn't think Tooru would be up to it. Things had been weird since Monday.

Midoriya got no word from Hagakure about Hatsume Monday night. And all he could get out of her on Tuesday during school was that she took care of it. Izuku still went to see Mei after class and was glad to see her cleaned up and with a new pair of clothes, but even she wouldn't say anything more on the matter.

 _Hagakure-chan insisted that I don't talk about it. Can't say no to someone who's going to innovate me to new heights!_

At that point, Midoriya just gave in. At least Hatsume promised up to five hours of sleep and a bath if she became messy again until the cultural festival. Plus it seemed the girls did bond a bit, another bonus.

Either way, the situation was weird because Tooru had been acting a bit distant the last two days. Less interacting and talking in general though the most obvious part was the lack of physical affection. Izuku didn't expect to be kissed every day or anything but it was odd for there to be no hugs or hand holding started by her.

Midoriya figured it had to do with Monday, but for the moment he just left it be. If the situation didn't improve by the weekend, he would ask about it.

Izuku's mind then went back to his current dilemma.

What to do?

Turn in early? Nah, he wasn't tired yet.

Force himself to study? A few quizzes were coming up on Friday, but again Midoriya wasn't in the mood.

Maybe grab a snack and then re-read a book? He licked his lips at the thought of something salty, like some chips. Yeah, perhaps that will do.

Izuku sat up and was about to stand when he felt his phone vibrate. His mind quickly thought and hoped, maybe Tooru wants to have a kiss session. She did usually offer via text. But when Midoriya opened his phone, he found it was the group chat.

Glasses: Evening all!

Everyone said then said their greetings except for Yaoyorozu.

Encyclopedia: Oh we are doing this now? Not at lunch tomorrow?

The followed a few confused responses.

Glasses: I figured cause of the secretive nature of the information that we keep it to a more private place.

All Might: Private?

Lion: Hmmm...

Blank: This sounds serious.

Bubbles: Agreed, what's going on?

Encyclopedia: I guess I'll start.

Glasses: Go ahead Yaoyorozu-chan.

Encyclopedia: Thank you.

Encyclopedia: Anyways, we might have accidentally found out why Aizawa-sensei has been restless at our team training.

Blank: Oh nice!

Bubbles: Accidently?

Lion: Okay now you have me interested.

Izuku tensed up. Did they find out by Eraserhead being hounded by federal agents? If so how? Or was this completely different?

Glasses: It wasn't intentional Hagakure-chan. We walked into the conversation in the teacher's office while dealing with some paperwork.

Encyclopedia: We were trying to set up another joint activity with 1B once the cultural festival is over and needed to get sensei's approval.

Blank: That's nice and all but can we get to the point?

Lion: Gonna have to agree with Hagakure-chan here.

Bubbles: Oh another joint activity? What do you two have in mind?

Encyclopedia: That's a secret!

Glasses: We'll discuss with everyone once the Cultural Festival is over.

Glasses: Getting to the point as requested, Present Mic-sensei was showing concern for Aizawa-sensei's well being. He mentioned that training us, watching over Eri-san, and giving private lessons to a student on top of his regular duties was going to burning his candle at both ends.

Lion: Private lessons? Did they say who?

Encyclopedia: They weren't specific, and we didn't ask. Aizawa-sensei was quick to end the conversation once he noticed we were there.

Blank: I wonder who in our class needs the extra lessons.

Bubbles: It might not even be someone in 1A though.

Glasses: Or even in our year.

Midoriya looked away from his phone for a bit as he recalled a memory. It was after the final exams for the first term and Eraserhead was walking with Hitoshi Shinso just behind him. A stretch, but another tidbit that made the possibility more likely was what Sero had told Midoriya at the start of the second term. Izuku was desperate for information of the new term, and once Tenya allowed it, he first turned to Hanta, as he was happy to answer any questions. Sero mentioned noticing Shinso at the opening looking rougher. Midoriya figured the student from 1C was training on his own to fulfill his desire to join the hero course at the time, but this recent revelation connected some dots.

But should Izuku say anything about it to his friends? He suddenly felt his phone vibrate.

Bubbles: Midoriya-kun hasn't said anything for a bit. Is he still here?

Blank: You there? All Might

Lion: Probably lost in thought on who it might be.

Izuku chuckled and then began typing.

All Might: You guessed right Ojiro-kun. I got nothing though. I'm stumped.

Midoriya felt it was meant to be under wraps, like their team training. Might as well keep it as such for now.

The chat continued for a few minutes with everyone throwing out their guesses, though none of them even close. In the end, everyone was relieved at least that their homeroom teacher was only overworked. Momo and Tenya did say they were considering putting something together for Eraserhead. His birthday was only two weeks away; the class presidents found out. It was the least they could do.

Izuku was a bit more worried though for the pro hero. Cause this was all on top of having to deal with the federal agents as well. But before he could ponder the situation more, another phone vibration pulled him away from his thoughts.

Lion: Hey. Are you awake enough to talk for a bit?

Midoriya looked to see it was a private message. Everyone else had said their goodbyes in the group chat, and he quickly typed one as well. Izuku then turned his attention to his friend's request. He guessed at the subject matter and typed away.

All Might: Of course. Need some advice with Yaoyorozu-chan?

Lion: Ha. Not this time. It's a bit more serious though.

Izuku's interest turned to concern.

All Might: Everything okay?

There wasn't a response until about a minute later.

Lion: Monoma contacted me and wants to talk.

All Might: Since when?

All Might: How?

All Might: Did he say anything shady?

Lion: Woah there, everything's under control. I think he wants to continue our conversation from Karaoke night. I mean it's Monoma, so it's always suspicious, but I need to see this through for Momo's sake.

All Might: Cause she thinks you should talk to him?

Lion: She helped set the whole thing up.

Lion: Monoma tried to get my number through Ida-kun, who refused but she was there too at the time. After talking with him, Momo gave him my number because we would try to work out our differences.

Lion: I just wanted to talk over the phone, but he insisted we talk face to face.

All Might: So are you just anxious?

Lion: Mostly...

Lion: Would you mind tagging along?

All Might: Monoma-san isn't going to be happy if I do, but it wouldn't hurt if I came.

Lion: Well I don't care if it bothers him but thanks.

All Might: No problem.

All Might: So when and where is this meetup?

Lion: That's still up in the air. All I did was agree with talking.

Lion: But I said I needed some time cause of practice for the festival. Which isn't exactly a lie cause Ashido-chan's training regiment is tough.

Midoriya sighed before typing a response.

All Might: Yeah, it's tough alright.

Lion: I'll talk with Monoma again, and we will set a time and place.

Lion: For sure before the cultural festival. I want this behind me before that.

All Might: Let's hope for the best then!

Lion: I just want this to be over. See ya.

Izuku put down his phone and went over to turn off his lights. As he settled into his bed, he wondered why Mashirao was treating this as more as an annoyance than anything. Midoriya wondered, was Ojiro-kun that eager to move on?

* * *

" _Mon pauvre._ You're sulking Midoriya-kun," came a voice from behind Izuku's left as he was about to open his door.

Midoriya nearly jumped up at the declaration. He then collected himself turning his head to see Aoyama's head poking out from his room. Izuku wasn't sure how his new friend knew he was there but didn't bother to think about it this time. These sudden appearances were familiar with Yuga after all.

Midoriya tried to smile as he said, "Afternoon Aoyama-kun. What makes you say that?"

Aoyama opened his door a bit more as she answered, "It's become increasingly obvious as the week has gone by, especially during dance practice. And I'm willing to bet it involves Hagakure-chan."

Izuku pondered, is it that obvious? Or was Yuga as observant as Koji when it came to such things? Either way, he shrugged while stating, "It's not that serious."

"Perhaps it is. But it's still dragging you down," Aoyama said with a grunt. He then took a step forward as he asked, "Mind spilling the beans? I can offer assistance like last time if you so wish it."

Midoriya weighed his options. He was gonna try and talk to his girlfriend about what happened on Monday as things weren't improving. Admittedly things weren't getting worse either, but this odd energy between the two was getting on Izuku's nerves. He figured giving space would work things out, but after a couple of days, nothing was changing. And now Yuga was interested in his plight. Though the thought of what happened with his previous suggestion still was fresh in Midoriya's mind.

"Like last time? The time you forgot to mention Ida-kun and Uraraka-chan were also using the roof," Izuku stated with his arms crossed.

" _Désolé._ Still, it's not my fault you decided to go up there the same time they were bonding. Or perhaps it was fate," Yuga replied with a shrug.

Midoriya sighed as he shook his head. He then said, "Fine but let's talk about it in my room."

Aoyama's grin grew more extensive, but he didn't say a word as he closed his door and entered his friend's room.

From there Izuku recounted what happened on Monday. He was prepared for a reaction about the detail of Tooru and Mei bathing together, but Yuga stayed quiet and continued listening. Midoriya almost didn't mention that part but felt, in the end, it might better explain why his girlfriend was acting so strange.

When finished Izuku asked, "So what do you think-."

Yuga hushed him and then said, " _Un instant._ I must concentrate on a solution."

Minutes passed, and Aoyama's face became increasingly more frustrated. Finally, he proclaimed, "I've got it! I need your phone."

"Uh, okay," Midoriya said as he pulled out his phone and unlocked it before giving it to his friend. He then as asked, "So what did you think up?"

"Nothing," Aoyama responded as he happily typed away on the cellular device. He then put it up to his ear as he said, "So we go the more direct method."

Before Izuku could fathom what was going on, Yuga spoke into the phone saying, "Good evening Hagakure-chan."

Aoyama's face then turned to disgust as he stated, "No I did not steal his phone. He willingly gave it to me."

The two then argued for about a minute until Yuga huffed and tried to calm himself. He then said, "Look, the reason I am using his phone isn't the point. Can you come to his room right now? You two need a talk."

Midoriya immediately started shaking his head and hands to this statement.

"Of course he is okay chatting with you in person. He just needed a little push from his _ami_ ," Aoyama replied with a wink towards his host. His grin then subsided and looked at his phone in disappointment. "She hung on me."

Izuku sighed before saying, "Was that necessary?"

"Of course. We both had no idea on what to do so you need to simply talk it out I say. She did say she was coming over before rudely hanging up," Aoyama replied while handing back his host's phone. He then coughed before saying, "I best make my leave though. Hagakure-chan will be most displeased of my presence if I linger. _Bonne chance!_ "

And with that Yuga exited Midoriya's room before the latter could even ask what that last sentence even meant. He then pushed the thought aside and turned his thoughts to what do when Hagakure arrived. Izuku thought, would she even know what they needed to talk about? Tooru would have to right? Would it be wrong to assume she did?

Midoriya kept on asking himself questions in his head for the next couple minutes until he heard a knock on his door. He was paralyzed at the fact that he had let his opportunity to think this through go to waste by his endless brainstorm of questions.

Hagakure's voice could be heard on the other side of the door saying, "Are you even there Izuku?"

Izuku tapped his cheeks a few times with his hands to snap out of it and then reached to open the door. Upon its opening, all he could muster to say was, "Hey."

Tooru was quick to ask, "Is he in there?"

"Aoyama-kun? No, he left after he finished talking to you on the phone," Midoriya responded as he watched his girlfriend enter his room. He then said, "He was only trying to help."

"Alright enough about him, let's just focus on us," Hagakure stated as she sat down on her boyfriend's friend. Just as he sat down to her right, she said, "Sorry for this week."

Izuku gulped but then stated, "It's been weird alright."

Tooru groaned before saying, "It's not your fault." She then laid back on his bed with her legs hanging off the side of the bed.

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Midoriya said as he joined her in laying down. As much as he hated to say that cause he wanted to know, he didn't want to rush her into this if it was bothering her so much.

"I'm here aren't I? Might as well talk about it. Besides, I want to know how you feel about it," Hagakure explained as she grabbed his left hand.

Izuku squeezed her hand as he asked, "About what?"

"About when we get physical," Tooru answered in an awkward tone.

Midoriya mouth hung open as he tried to think of words to say, but nothing came out. So she did know, he thought. But what to say?

After a few moments, Hagakure said, "And this is one reason why I didn't want to discuss this earlier this week."

Izuku was quick to clear his throat before saying, "I've calmed down now we can talk about it."

Tooru then asked, "But are you forcing yourself to?"

Concerned at the question, Izuku replied with confidence, "Of course not. Why would you ask that?"

Hagakure let go of her boyfriend's hand and stood up to get off the bed as she said, "Let me explain first." She then paced back and forth a few times before saying, "The shower I had with Hatsume-san on Monday was an eye-opener for me. It made me think that maybe I'm too forceful on you when it comes to getting physical."

Midoriya then stood up and said, "But you haven't always been the one to start it. I mean I was the one that tried to french kiss first for example."

"But did you do that more for yourself or me? Did it stress you out? Did it make you uncomfortable? That's what I'm getting at," Tooru stated. She then huffed before saying, "Sorry, let me clarify."

Izuku sat back down before his girlfriend continued.

"I underestimated how curious Hatsume-san was about me quirk, and during our shower together she became too touchy-feely for my tastes."

Midoriya didn't like this one bit and was about to say something, but Hagakure was quick to inject with, "Don't worry I talked to her afterward about how I wasn't okay with what she did. I think I got through Hatsume-san cause she apologized, well in her unique way. But anyway it got me thinking, have I made you feel as uncomfortable as she made me feel?"

Izuku shook his head as he stated, "Not to the level you are describing. Hatsume-chan is a stranger to you. I'm your boyfriend. Sure, things like embracing and kissing were embarrassing and uncomfortable at first. But that's natural isn't?"

Tooru then asked, "You're not busting your back accommodate my advances?"

"No. Everything has worked out in the end even if it was stressful at first," Midoriya argued. Hagakure then approached, and he felt her hands grab his shoulders.

Tooru then said, "Even if." She pushed Izuku onto to his back and sat on his lap before saying, "I were to pin you down like this and I don't know." He felt his girlfriend's hands grip the bottom of his shirt before she asked, "Take off your shirt and proceed from there? Would you be okay with that right now? Would say yes just cause you wanted to please me?"

Midoriya was quite flustered at this point, but after a few moments he collected himself mentally and said, "I w-would ask you to p-please get off me."

Hagakure did just that and sat down on her boyfriend's bed to his bewilderment. She then said, "Sorry about that. I wanted to be sure."

Izuku thought that was a test? That was bold even for her. He then sat up and straightened out his shirt before saying, "If I was ever uncomfortable to the point that it bothered me I would tell you Tooru. Honest. I'll admit I missed you initiating our hugs and kisses, even if it wasn't even a week. I do want to please you, but I'm not going to let you have your way with me. I would explode." Midoriya chuckled after saying the last sentence, and his girlfriend joined in on the laugh.

"I guess I was worrying over nothing," Tooru stated after the laughter died down. She then continued with, "I was worried you were doing anything to please me. And while it would be sweet of you, I also don't want you to let me walk all over you. It's been so long since you told me you weren't comfortable with us doing stuff together."

Right, since that day in the rain, Izuku thought. And that back when we were just friends. With that thought in mind, he got up and embraced his girlfriend to her surprise.

Hagakure returned the favor and then said, "Straight to it huh?"

"It felt right," Midoriya responded. After a few moments they parted, and he asked, "How long did you plan for this to last?"

"I don't know. I felt I needed time to think this through but avoiding it seemed like the easy way out. Thinking I might be at fault with you horrified me so not being physical with you felt like the best solution at the time," Tooru explained.

Izuku scratched the back of his head as he said, "I didn't have a plan besides asking you on Monday if nothing came up. I guess we can thank Aoyama-kun for settling this earlier for us."

"If anything I should have followed my advice about being more open to each other. Then we wouldn't have 'required' his help," Hagakure huffed. She then asked, "Did you tell him what happened Monday in detail?"

Midoriya shrugged, "I mean kinda had to for him to give any decent advice."

"Fine. Whatever. Be sure not to be too open with him about our relationship from now on though. Same goes with Ojiro-kun, cause he'll use it to tease us both if he wants to," Tooru stated.

"I'll keep that in mind," Izuku said with a nod. He then received a quick peck on the lips which caught him off guard.

"Good. See ya later Izuku," Hagakure stated in a much happier tone than anything else she had said that night. She then made her leave leaving her boyfriend flustered for the umpteenth time.

* * *

"I'm telling you it's weird," Tokoyami proclaimed with a bewildered tone.

From across the couch, Kaminari asked, "What's wrong with 1B being friendly with us? New friends are always a plus."

"Says the one that tries to make friends with everyone," Fumikage said with a sigh.

With a smirk, Denki replied, "Tries? More like I am."

"You still haven't gotten through to Bakugo-san," Mineta stated as he grabbed another handful of chips from the coffee table before gobbling it down.

"That's not true! I call him Kacchan just like Midoriya-kun, and they're good friends," Kaminari tried to argue.

"More like he lets you get away with it. He doesn't like Izuku saying it either," Hagakure said with a huff.

Denki shook his head as he responded, "Well you see, tolerance is just how Kacchan works. Tolerance is his way of an early friendship. Everyone functions differently. It's his way is all."

"If you say so Mr. Friend Expert," Tooru said as she leaned on her boyfriend.

Izuku was to his girlfriend's right and was keeping out of the conversation for now. It was Monday night, and some of the students had decided to stay up rather than going to bed earlier like most of the class despite how difficult their training session had been today. It started with Midoriya and Hagakure chatting alone, but Kaminari and Mineta came with a bowl of chips to share. Tokoyami was elsewhere in the room by himself but came over once he saw Sato came back from outside and went upstairs.

Fumikage had noticed Rikido would spend a lot of time on the phone with 1B's class president and wanted to ask his classmates about it.

"I bet they are only discussing ideas of stuff to do with 1B once more. Those two were the masterminds behind the karaoke night, which was awesome, so more power to them I say," Denki argued.

"He is not the only one. Mineta-kun has also started to spend a lot of time with 1B," Tokoyami argued.

Mineta smirked, "Ah to be jealous that I am watching anime with a nice foreign girl. I know this feeling well Tokoyami-kun. It's okay. I forgive you."

Everyone but Denki sighed at the statement, with Fumikage even shaking his head. "I care not that you are spending time with Tsunotori-san. It's more it's difficult to get used to becoming friendly with 1B from how things were in the first term. Especially since two of their students keep trying to get in contact with me."

Izuku then asked, "What's wrong with Komori-san and Kurioiro-san being interested in talking with you?" He had seen both try and approach Fumikage multiple times after class.

"Komori-san seems more interested about me working with Hawks-sensei than anything else. She won't stop asking for further details about him and I care not for his popularity or rank. Then Kurioiro-san sees me as a rival I think due to our similar views and quirk. His quirk involves shadows or dark colors or something from what vague details he has given me in his rants. I'm not interested in having more competition as there are enough powerhouses to deal with in our class already," Tokoyami explained.

Kaminari shrugged, "Suit yourself then. This shows we can be friends with 1B despite the tradition it has with 1A. I mean even Ojiro-kun and Monoma-san seem to be getting along too."

Izuku knew better though. The meeting between the two had been set for Thursday night. Mashirao had contacted him on Sunday when it would happen. There still had been no word on where it would be, but Midoriya figured it wouldn't be too long until he found it.

Mineta then said, "Don't be so hung up on it Tokoyami-kun. Just think of positive stuff, like your birthday later this week!"

"Oh right I did mention that to you a few weeks ago," Tokoyami stated.

Kaminari nearly choked on the handful chips he had recently put into his mouth. After a few coughs, "Wait it's almost your birthday? When is it?"

"This Wednesday, the 30th," Fumikage answered as he closed his eyes.

Denki groaned before saying, "Awww man, wouldn't it have been cool for a guy like you to have your birthday on Halloween instead?"

"And there it is," Tokoyami sighed. He then opened his eyes and said, "I detest that holiday. If anything I would have preferred it to be on November 2nd."

Tooru then asked, "Uh, what holidays are on those days?"

"The Day of the Dead. Though it's a few days longer with the 2nd being the biggest of them all," Izuku explained.

"You are quite right Midoriya-kun. I much prefer the rich culture of that holiday over the generic mess Halloween has become," Fumikage said with a nod.

Minoru asked, "Hmm, both have something to do with the dead right? So what's the big deal?" He then grabbed a handful of chips and began to eat.

"One is about the fear or warding off the dead, but the other is about honoring the dead. My grandmother taught me a lot about how the Day of the Dead is about celebrating one's ancestors. To me that is a much more appropriate way a holiday should be handled concerning the deceased," Tokoyami explained.

Midoriya then spoke up and said, "Your grandma gave you a lot of stuff and knowledge huh?" He remembered Tokoyami mentioning a lot of stuff in his room was from her. It seemed this woman was quite important to his friend.

"Yes, I owe her much. Trinkets, books, morals, stories, and more," Fumikage answered.

Izuku then asked, "You want us to do anything for your birthday? I'm sure Sato-kun and Ida-kun would be happy to bake a cake for you at the very least."

"Thanks but I'd rather we focus on the cultural festival. It's our final week of practice. Besides, I'm not into celebrating my birthday much anymore," Tokoyami replied.

Kaminari then placed a hand on his chin as he asked, "Stories huh? Hey, would any of these happen to be scary stories?"

Fumikage looked intrigued as he asked, "Some do carry a sense of dread in their purpose. Why do you ask?"

"Dude we should totally have a scary story night in your room on Halloween," Denki proclaimed with glee.

Tooru shot up and said, "I'm in! I bet some of the other girls would love to go to."

Upon hearing this Minoru too stood up, though on the couch, and proclaimed, "I'm going too. I can't wait to see you all piss your pants in fear."

Tokoyami looked a bit overwhelmed at all the attention. He then closed his eyes and cleared his throat before saying, "As long as no one wears costumes or brings candy I'll consider it." Denki and Minoru started to ask him about when would be a good time to do it on Thursday.

Hagakure then sat back down and asked, "You don't wanna go huh?"

Midoriya nodded and responded with, "Yeah, I'll pass."

"Fair enough. Only I get to scare the pants off you," Tooru stated with a giggle.

Izuku sighed upon hearing this. This probably meant more horror movies in the future for him. Either way, he was happy to see Fumikage becoming more sociable. But Midoriya's mind instead turned to the meeting on Thursday. He hoped both events would go well, as they both needed it.

* * *

Mashirao asked, "You look uneasy. Is everything okay?"

"Oh sorry. I'm only thinking of the times I've spent here. It's awkward being here for entirely different reasons," Izuku responded while scratching the back of his head.

Ojiro looked around a bit before asking, "What's so special about this place?"

Midoriya leaned back and looked at the almost bare Japanese maple tree above him. He then said, "Tooru and I have had some talks here is all."

"Well, Monoma was the one that chose this spot, so that's on him. And he's late," Mashirao stated with annoyance.

It was a chilly Thursday night. The month of November would start tomorrow and the cultural festival the day after. Izuku felt ready for both his parts for the performance. It might not have been as much as he was hoping for, but Eri would still get to see him. That's all that mattered.

Ojiro then stood up from the bench and said, "Speaking of which."

Monoma was approaching from their left looking displeased. Once he arrived, he stated, "And you are not alone. I thought I asked for this to be more private."

"Only being sure this doesn't have any nefarious intentions behind it," Mashirao said with a smirk.

"Ojiro-san. I was quite clear that such behavior from me won't be happening anymore," Neito said while crossing his arms. He then shot a glance at Izuku and said, "I guess you were expecting a throw down if you brought the muscles of your class."

Midoriya sighed and then asked, "Can we get this over with? Tomorrow's our last day of practice. We should all get to bed soon." It was late enough already. He guessed Tokoyami's scary stories were wrapping up at this point. Hagakure and everyone else left to go to his room almost two hours ago.

Monoma turned his back to the others as he said, "Well now I don't feel like discussing this matter. This is between you and me Ojiro-san. No one else."

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous."

Everyone turned to the right upon hearing the voice. It was coming from a bush beside the bench. Within moments it began to rustle, and a student from 1B emerged while holding a long block of wood.

"I'm going to have to agree with Midoriya-san here that you should just get to the point," Awase stated while tapping the block of wood into his other hand.

Ojiro chuckled before saying, "Coming alone huh? It looks like you were just as concerned as I was."

"Awase-kun being here is not of my choice believe me," Neito groaned.

Mashirao shot Yosetsu a look, and he proceeded to nod before explaining, "Due to Kendo-chan being so busy with the beauty pageant she put me in charge of making sure Monoma-san doesn't get into any more trouble. It was obvious he had something planned last week, and when I confronted him about it, he easily spilled the beans."

"I don't need you or Kendo-chan babysitting me anymore. I want no quarrel with Ojiro-san or Koda-san anymore, so there is no reason," Monoma argued.

"Mind explaining that to us all then? Your sudden change in behavior makes no sense to me," Ojiro said while retaking his seat next to Midoriya.

"Fine to the point then," Neito stated with a shrug. Yosetsu joined his classmate's side before he continued by saying, "You know we both risked expulsion that day."

"Hard to believe," Mashirao said.

Monoma smirked before explaining further with, "While for you the threat came from our school, for me it was my parents."

Awase looked surprised to hear this. It seemed like this was kept a secret to everyone, even 1B, Midoriya thought.

"Being from a well off family means everyone has very high standards. I always got away with my antics in my last school but once my parents learned of what happened between us that day I was given an ultimatum. Clean up my ways or be pulled from U.A. for good," Neito said while looking back towards the main campus. He then exhaled loudly before saying, "My parents were already shaky in supporting my endeavor to become a hero. With my smarts, I could be anything. A doctor, a scientist, a lawyer you name it. But I always desired to be a hero, and I felt my quirk had great potential. The field, however, is hazardous and there's no guarantee you will make it big with a quirk like mine."

There was silence for a few moments before Izuku spoke up and asked, "Cause you can't go solo with it, right?"

"Precisely. As strong as my quirk is, it's useless if I am not on a team. There's no guarantee I will be able to reach and copy the quirk form a villain or if it will be useful against itself. Plus what's to happen if I am needed to rescue someone and not fight. Alone how am I different than a normal person? Even then, hero teams are usually not present in the higher ranks of our hero system anyways. Something that goes against the steep standards my kind seeks after. It was because of my excellent grades, perseverance, and acceptance into U.A. that my parents acknowledged my attempt to this dream of mine," Monoma explained.

Mashirao shook his head as he said, "And yet despite this you continued to be an asshole to people like Koda-san and I. Your 'sob story' falls apart when you consider that."

"And you have all the reason in the world to say that. Nothing I say or do can amend what I did," Neito stated as he got on his knees.

Ojiro then stood up and asked, "You're really going to do this?"

Monoma then bowed his head as he stated, "I want to move on from that part of my life. But I still feel a conflict between us despite this change of heart of mine. I understand how hard it is just to drop these years of resentment we had for one another at the drop of a hat. I want us to have a more healthy way to express it, and I feel a more traditional rivalry out of respect, not hatred could do this."

"Get up already. This isn't like you," Mashirao said offering a hand.

Neito didn't take it as he stood back up, "I don't deserve that from you. Not yet at least. And to your previous point, it might not be like the old me but I still trying to make amends here. Mind giving me a chance at the very least?"

Ojiro sighed before asked, "Okay then, hypothetically, how can we be legit rivals when we are in different classes?. There are few opportunities for us to compete. Do you want to wait until the next Hero Festival when we are 2nd years?"

Monoma shook his head as he replied, "Very soon, before the end of the year we will have a chance. And even if that doesn't pan out, I'll think of something."

Awase then asked, "Wait what you even talking about?"

"In due time Awase-kun, and I promise it's nothing sinister. Kan-sensei has already approved this," Neito answered. He then looked back at Mashirao and said, "That covers all I have to say tonight. Unless you have anything to ask Ojiro-san, I think I will make my leave."

After a few moments, Mashirao responded with, "Your entire plan only works if I forgive you. What makes you think I will?"

"A decent point, but I've already seen you make amends with someone of similar stature to myself already. You were willing to look past their background and establish a good relationship with them. I figured if you were capable of that, with effort and time, I could attempt to do the same," Monoma explained.

Ojiro let out a long exhale as he asked, "How long have you known?"

"I had my suspicions since our summer camp. It only became more obvious as our second term progressed," Neito shrugged. He then said, "I have told no one of this of course."

Yosetsu then asked with a bewildered face, "Uh, what you are you two talking about?"

Monoma turned and placed a hand on Awase's shoulder as he stated, "It's not my place to say. Anyways, let's head back to our dorms."

"I'm going to stay for a bit. You go ahead," Yosetsu said as he brushed off his classmate's hand.

"Suit yourself," Neito said as he turned around and made his exit.

Izuku then stood up and asked, "Is there something you wanted to tell us Awase-san?"

"I'm not answering that last question if that is what you want to know," Mashirao was quick to say.

"Considering that even you want to keep a secret Ojiro-san I don't want to know. I just wanted to say that if he tries anything funny or suspicious I want to know about it. After the karaoke night, I think our classes can truly get along, and I don't want him messing it up. He sounds genuine, and all but you know with him," Yosetsu explained.

Ojiro agreed to this, and the two exchanged phone numbers. After they did Midoriya asked, "Hey so is there anyone else in 1B that was as against our class as Monoma-san is?"

"I mean sure; there are a few that have voiced the idea of competing with 1A but not to the extent that Monoma-san has had," Awase answered.

Mashirao put away his phone as he asked, "Any idea on why beyond 'tradition' on why he's like that? Or is that the only reason?"

Yosetsu sighed before explaining with, "Kan-sensei is probably to blame. He's very vocal about his competitive nature with your homeroom teacher, and I think it rubs off on some of my classmates, especially Monoma-san. Though sensei still tries to reign him in at times, and Kendo-chan when he's not around."

Izuku then said, "And now you too."

"This is temporary. Once the cultural festival is over Kendo-chan will have the time and energy to focus on Monoma-san's shenanigans once more. I'll give her your number to her next week Ojiro-san," Awase stated. He then put his phone into his pocket before saying, "Thanks for keeping your cool Ojiro-san, it made this a lot easier. See you guys at the festival."

As the 1B student left the two from 1A started to make their way back to their own dorms. It was silent for a bit, but eventually, Ojiro spoke up and said, "I can't believe Monoma knows about me dating Momo. Like he guessed there was something between us before we were even a thing. Was I that obvious?"

"I think he was just hyper-focused on you and was able to notice it is all," Midoriya tried to argue. He then said, "It's not like anyways else has figured it out."

"That we know of," Mashirao interjected.

A thought then came to Izuku, and he asked, "What's your reasoning behind wanting to keep it a secret? Is it like mine?"

Ojiro took a few moments to respond, but when he did, he replied, "My biggest fear about dating Momo is gaining her mother's approval. I think the more people that know, the more likely it is that she might find out. From what Momo has said, she keeps a close eye on everything she does. I bet she has someone relaying information back to her."

"That sounds terrible," Midoriya stated. And he thought Mrs. Hagakure was a bit overbearing at times. This was completely different.

"I want us to be established enough before we confront her and we still have a lot to go I fell before we are ready," Ojiro said as he stepped onto the steps towards 1A's dorms. He then turned to Midoriya to say, "But for now let's focus on Saturday. You need to make this performance as amazing as possible if were are live up to Eri's expectations."

Izuku nodded to this. Just one more day of practice, he thought. Eri needed this, and he was going to try his hardest to make her happy and leave behind the terrors of the past.

* * *

 **Another chapter is here! No April Fools here!**

 **Yes, it's ultra-late once again but for a different reason than previous delays. I wanted to once and for all return to the monthly releases but also wanted to create a nice buffer, so if shit ever hits the fan again, I can still uphold the consistent updates. This chapter was completed back in February, and I then continued writing into Chapter 29. At this point, even chapter 30 is done, tho both require some heavy editing. With 31, only the first scene is written but it's going well. I hope to continue building on this buffer until I catch up to the manga (which is slowly becoming a reality considering what I have left to work with).**

 **So to the chapter itself, starting with the Mei scene. With how much closer Izuku is with her (and by extent Power Loader) I felt if he knew what was going on with her during this arc, he would want to help. Even if that meant he had to rely on Tooru to do this. As a side note, the Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee Power Loader mentioned is a real thing. It's quite popular in Japan, and it imports it more than any other country. It's not the most expensive coffee grinds in the world but up there.**

 **When writing the next scene, it made me realize how long it had been since the entire group had participated in the group chat. I originally planned it to be during lunch, but since it felt somewhat secretive, I switched it to a phone conversation. Plus it was an excellent way to ease in Gentle's introduction at the start and Ojiro's asking for help from Midoriya at the end. I know I held off mentioning Gentle Criminal for some time, but it felt best to tease just before his debut because he was so short lived compared to Overhaul and how little Izuku knew of him prior to meeting him (tho he knows more here than in canon).**

 **The next two scenes were to work upon some of our minor characters during this arc. Using Aoyama specifically is always a treat, even if it was short. The actual scary stories Tokoyami would have told happened in the third light novel if you want to read more on that (the set-up and timeline of the event are different though, plus the addition of Tooru). I didn't feel like making a scene out of it because it lacked Izuku (and the way I have written him, he wouldn't want to go) plus I didn't want to adopt the latter part of that chapter involving the rest of the class (as that's a lot of character to juggle).**

 **Speaking of light novels, the 4th volume comes out in Japan soon. It covers the school festival arc, and it seems to only cover the day of the festival. If anything interesting comes to light once it's translated, I'll add such details/scenes to chapter 29.**

 **Also speaking of added details, I added some more to the final scene of chapter 27. I forgot to have Hagakure mention what she learned from Todoroki about the re-test for their provisional license. This was added at the part the two were waiting for their desserts.**

 **Now, the Monoma scene has been delayed for a bit but sitting on it got me a lot of time to think it through in more detail than I initially wanted. Stuff like Awase being there (initially it was going to be Blood King, and he was going to come out of the bushes after the meeting) and Yaoyorozu helping set up Ojiro to talk to Monoma were such things I added over time. I'm happy Neito got expanded on his latest arc as it gives, even more, to work with going forward.**

 **Night Foliage has finished editing chapter 17, with 85 edits. She has started writing again so her edits might be going slower than usual. Luckily she only has about five more chapters left of that require major edits as starting with chapter 23 Cleric of Nayru began to spot editing for me. Hopefully, that means at that point the edits will go by quick, and I'll have two editors helping me with current chapters eventually.**

 **On the Tumblr/Twitter side of things, all I have to report is another commission being completed. I had commissioned Zeromomentaii in January as a birthday present to a discord friend, Chumunga64. Due to some real life issues for the artist, it was delayed until the beginning of March. Either way, Chu is a good friend of mine that I share many discord servers I frequent. He created the IdaCamie ship, so I had him made an excellent piece for his crazy but fun crackship.**

 **Chapter 29 will cover the aftermath of the Cultural Festival arc and will be a bit shorter than usual. Chapter 30 covers the time skip before the Pro Hero Arc as I have less I want to focus on compared Cultural Festival's time skip. Thirty-one will have a light focus on that arc but will continue with the theme of 29. How long the gap until the Joint Training arc is undetermined as it's length has changed over time in both ways in planning.**

 **See all of you for sure on May 1st!**


	29. Close Call

Chapter 29: Close Call

Tooru shook her boyfriend as she said, "Do it again Izuku! But hit something this time!"

"Okay, okay. Give me a second," Izuku stated as he tried to regain his composure. He looked around until something caught his view. The boy then brought up his right hand towards the objects and placed his middle finger on the back of the thumb.

Midoriya then said, "Sorry Mr. Rock."

After a moment of focus, he turned on Full Cowl once more and flicked his middle forward. The glove then immediately reacted. The wrist guard folded outward and focused the sudden blast of energy towards the intended target, more a small boulder than a rock. When the force hit it, the stone cracked and then shattered. Some pieces fell to the ground before the top of the target slowly slid off.

"It's superb! Hatsume-chan came through here," Hagakure stated with glee as she ran over to inspect the damaged boulder.

Izuku sighed at this. He was still taken aback to Tooru's reaction despite his lengthy explanation of yesterday.

The cultural festival had gone and past, but it was nearly shut down, and almost everyone was none the wiser.

It all began with Friday night. Midoriya had noticed the rope that was used to suspend Aoyama had frayed due to all the practicing. Yaoyorozu was already asleep, and he didn't want to bother her to make more. Izuku felt it was on him to grab some more in the morning cause he didn't properly check on the condition of the equipment until just before midnight.

Besides, Midoriya was getting up early to show All Might the new gloves that Hatsume had given him while he was on break that day. Dubbed Air Force Gloves, they worked like a charm. The equipment was white with green palms. Each knuckle had an orange sight, and it came with a sizeable dual-layered band around his wrist which had a blue seam. Once Izuku told his mentor of the new support gear over a text, he was asked for a demonstration early the next morning.

So bright and early the boy awoke to train, and after both were satisfied with Air Force Glove's performance, he left to the nearby convenience store. It took some looking, but eventually, he found one that sold some.

But then it happened.

While dashing back to school, Midoriya almost ran over two individuals, a tall man, and a short woman. They were both wearing a lot of clothing and sunglasses to hide their appearance. They quickly cautioned Izuku to watch where he was going before making their leave. As they did, however, the boy caught on to what the man had mentioned before departing.

 _The aftertaste of the imperial golden tips was almost ruined._

Midoriya wouldn't have given it a second thought if not for recognizing the brand of tea that Yaoyorozu had made, which prompted him to state that he was surprised that there was a local tea house. The man then responded with enthusiasm at Izuku's knowledge of the tea.

From there though it was clear.

That voice.

Midoriya had heard it so many times these last few weeks on the phone.

It was The Gentle Criminal, and this was going to be the next big heist that he had been hinting at. Entering U.A. and disrupting the cultural festival!

With their cover blown, the two revealed their true selves.

Considering his options and what was at stake, Izuku attacked. Only to be sprung back from what seemed like nothing but thin air. Here the villain revealed his quirk, Elasticity. Anything he touched could become elastic, even the air. But that didn't deter the would-be hero, and he powered forward. Using 'air bullets' from his gloves he was able to slow down Gentle.

Their battle took them from the streets to a construction site and then to the forest behind the school. Midoriya was able to pin Gentle and his partner down, however, and it looked to be over. Only for his assistant to then revealing her quirk, Love.

La Brava was her name, Izuku learned. Her power allowed any individual she passionately loved to gain strength. Midoriya recognized the form Gentle took, with steam emitting from his body. This was how the villain was able to overpower so many pro heroes on his lonesome.

However, Izuku had fought stronger and faster opponents than Gentle before and was able to keep up. As the two exchanged blows, they spoke of their goals and dreams.

They were similar. To inspire others, for a brighter future for all. Their methods were vastly different, but the hope was the same. Midoriya wondered if this humbled Gentle. The result of their battle made him consider this.

The villain was pinned down once more. For good this time. However, before Izuku could try and restrain Gentle, but the man used his quirk one last time and launched the teen away. Far away.

Midoriya understood why once he landed safely and dusted himself off. Pro Heroes must have been close by due to the racket the two were making, and Gentle was trying not to get the student involved. But Izuku still ran back and pleaded with the two faculty on the scene, Hound Dog and Ectoplasm. It seemed to get through, as Hound Dog reported back that there was no call for an emergency and the festival continued as if nothing happened.

"Alright let's have some grub. You must be hungry after all this talking," Hagakure said as she walked back to her boyfriend.

Midoriya nodded and followed the hungry girl deeper into the forest.

It was late Sunday afternoon, and the two were having a date. A last minute date set up by Tooru. She was wearing black pants with a white t-shirt and a light purple jacket. On her wrists were some black snap bracelets and she carrying a backpack as well. Her boyfriend was just in jeans and a black t-shirt.

Before Izuku could tell his girlfriend what had happened, she already knew something was up. After their performance was over, she said they would talk about it later, as she wanted him to focus on spending time with Eri and Mirio.

As Hagakure laid down a blanket she pulled out of her backpack; she asked, "So did we get through to Eri-chan?"

"That and more. She was so ecstatic about our event and everything else that the festival offered. Togata-sen, I mean Togata-kun looked so overjoyed at her reactions," Midoriya responded. He also recalled seeing the small girl's cute reactions to Jiro's singing, his own dancing, Mei's presentation, and all the treats she ate.

"That's fantastic," Tooru stated as she brought out a salad and various toppings. She then said, "I can't imagine what would have felt if she wasn't pulled out of her funk considering all that you did to keep the cultural festival from continuing on."

"You're not angry? Like, at all?"

Hagakure responded in a confused tone by asking, "Why would I? The villain was caught, and the festival continued. A win-win."

Midoriya exhaled before saying, "Hound Dog-sensei was pretty clear that I made the wrong choice. That I should have let the adults do their job."

"Which would have had them shut down the festival no doubt. Sure they were more than capable of handling that pair, but you did it and kept everyone's hard work from being wasted."

Izuku finished preparing his food and said nothing as he took a bite. He still felt terrible about it as All Might wasn't happy either at the decisions that his student made, though not as harsh as Hound Dog.

Tooru then asked, "You only attacked cause you didn't consider him dangerous, right?"

Midoriya swallowed before saying, "Gentle was dangerous, but his motives were not. Even before I talked to him during our fight, I had a gut feeling he wouldn't use lethal force as I contemplated fighting him or not. His videos on YouTube showed me he was more a chivalrous vigilante than an actual villain."

"Sadly our society views any individuals outside the hero system as villains no matter how good their intentions."

Both kids were surprised by the voice of All Might as he walked out from behind a nearby tree.

Hagakure then asked, "Yagi-sensei? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to hear the boy's side of the story, in detail. However, it seems he turned off his phone this afternoon," Toshinori stated with slight agitation.

Izuku groaned internally. He forgot to charge his phone last night, and it was currently charging back in his room.

The former pro hero then took a few steps forward and sat down between the two.

Izuku placed his food down and then tried to ask, "But how-."

Tooru interrupted as she answered, "From me. I told him about my plans for today during the festival."

The skeleton of a man nodded as he said, "We had a little chat yesterday."

"And before you ask, what we said is between us only," Hagakure giggled.

Midoriya gave a look of disbelief at his mentor.

Yagi shrugged as he stated with a smile, "You heard your girlfriend. It's classified info."

Izuku could only groan at this revelation.

"However you being here wasn't part of my plan," Tooru stated.

"It wasn't mine either, at first. I became more interested in this Gentle Criminal though once I read the detective's report of the two. An expelled hero student that went vigilante and a high school girl who disappears and shows up as his biggest fan. Definitely a strange case," Toshinori explained.

Midoriya recalled Gentle saying he was had been enrolled in a hero course as he was being escorted away.

 _I, The Gentle Criminal, was born out of the despair of hero dropouts._

Izuku couldn't fathom such a thought. It did bring back memories of his mother considering him to go to a different school. It wasn't comparable, but that experience filled him with enough dread. Being kicked out of a hero academy felt like it was on an entirely different level.

All Might then looked at his pupil as he said, "It seems the police are being quite lax with their punishment considering what they did."

Midoriya then asked, "Do you know what the authorities are going to do with them?"

Yagi shook his head as he answered, "The report didn't say. The police are still going through Gentle's hideout to gather information. You also have to remember that this incident isn't their only crime. There are years of charges to go through, no matter how minor."

Izuku sighed upon hearing this. Of course, it wouldn't be that simple, he thought.

"Don't be so down, they're willingly working with the police which is why they are being so lenient. This is also an unusual case that rehabilitation is a possibility for these two. People seem to forget that part about justice. It's not only to punish those that break the law but to shape them back into model citizens. Letting every criminal rot in a cell and forever be burdened by their past deeds isn't the true path of justice," Toshinori said as he put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Thank you, sir," Midoriya stated as he placed his palm on All Might's hand. He appreciated that his idol always knew how to cheer him up.

Yagi then turned to Hagakure and said, "Sorry for the interruption. I'm sure you two are quite hungry and have better things to do than listen to an old man stall your date."

Tooru then said, "It's all good Yagi-sensei. Just be sure to update me on things if you ever change your mind. You have my number now remember?"

Izuku looked between both of them before saying, "Just what happened between you two yesterday!?"

"Like we said, only a chat," Hagakure stated with a giggle.

All Might then stood up and said, "I've stayed long enough; you two enjoy the rest of your date." As he made his exit, he stated, "I look forward to seeing you two and your friends next Monday for TAC training."

Midoriya too was excited about the next team training. He wished it began once more this Monday, but he understood his teacher's desire for them to have a bit rest after the cultural festival. Izuku wanted to see what his friends had come up with to fix their weaknesses that was discussed weeks before. Especially Tenya's, considering how intense his training seemed to be.

The two then said their goodbyes to their teacher before returning to their salads.

The conversation turned to what each did at the festival after their performance. It turned out both attended the beauty pageant, though Tooru only caught the tail end of it. She wasn't interested in the special skills category, just the dresses. So Hagakure only arrived when it was voting time.

From there Izuku, Mirio, and Eri stayed as a group with Eraserhead keeping an eye. Tooru went with Mina, Denki, and Minoru.

The former went to various food stands, even running into Ochako and Tsuyu getting crepes. Though the main attraction for Eri was the candied apple, she received before heading home. Midoriya also competed in an obstacle course, but so did Bakugo, who had the best time record. Though he was still way behind All Might's personal record, which irked the explosive teen.

The latter group attended 1C's haunted house. Hagakure was more interested in seeing her classmates reactions than anything else, and she seemed most pleased with the result. The highlight being a bloody Shinso hanging from the ceiling. This conversation did spur a question in the boy's mind.

"By the way, how did the scary stories on Halloween with Tokoyami-kun go?"

In a teasing voice, Tooru responded with, "So why does the scaredy cat want to know what happened now?"

"I just wanna know if it went well is all, not the actual stories," Izuku replied in a flustered state. He was not in the mood to hear any of his brooding friend's tales.

"Oh, I had plenty of fun. His stories were definitely creepy, much better than I thought they would be. Nothing against Tokoyami-kun but I thought his type of horror would be edgy, but his tales were legit. Either way, no matter the quality of his fiction, I went more to see everyone be petrified in fear. Kaminari-kun, Ashido-chan, and Mineta-san are all were all quite afraid. Both that day and yesterday."

"Did anyone else go? And how did they take it?" Izuku figured more would be interested.

"Shoji-kun was stone cold in his reactions, though I appreciate that he made sure Mineta-san couldn't run away. Tsuyu-chan seemed interested in the stories as Ashido-chan's clung onto her. Sero-kun was unsettled too but was better at hiding it, unlike Kaminari-kun," Tooru explained before finishing the last of her salad.

"Is that why you take me to horror movies? To see my reaction?"

"It does make it more entertaining for sure," Hagakure responded with a mischievous tone.

Izuku sighed as he stated, "Let's just keep to watching them to a minimum."

"Oh, that's fine. I don't want to break you," Tooru said with a laugh. She then placed her plate and fork aside and inched closer to her boyfriend. In a soft voice, she asked, "So how should I reward the big hero of yesterday?"

"R-reward!?"

Hagakure brought herself to just in front of Midoriya as she said, "Well of course. Because of you, everyone at U.A. got to be like normal high schoolers for once. Considering all we've been through, especially our class, and more so us both, I greatly appreciated it."

Izuku gulped before saying, "Well I'll e-enjoy whatever you wanna g-give me."

Tooru then sat on her boyfriend's lap facing him. She then wrapped her arms around his back and proceeded to kiss him.

Midoriya was thrown off by the mint that she had in her mouth. The kiss soft at first, but it quickly became more intense. Hagakure leaned in enough to push Midoriya onto his back as their make-out session continued.

Izuku noticed how much more passionate this kiss was than any of their time on the roof. Those were always from practice and experimenting. This was wistful and romantic.

Then a new feeling came.

It was coming from his rear. Tooru had her hands there and was pinching his butt.

Once Midoriya realized what his girlfriend was doing he parted his lips from her and asked, "W-what are you d-doing down there?"

"It kind of, just happened," Hagakure replied in a surprised tone. She sounded just as astonished as her boyfriend. Hagakure cleared her throat before asking, "Should I not?"

Izuku started to break out in a sweat even though it was chilly outside. Sure Tooru's proposal was one reason for being hot and bothered, but there was a much greater source.

"Can I give it a t-try?"

Tooru took a few moments to respond with, "You want to try to pinch my butt? You?"

Midoriya gave a weak nod. He didn't want to be left behind in intimacy anymore with his Hagakure. Sure the boy might not be the one to initiate every advancement, but he wanted to attempt to match her.

"I guess we can both try to be daring today," Tooru stated as she leaned back and sat down.

Izuku sat back up and wiped his forehead.

"Ready?"

"S-sure."

Hagakure than laid on her side with her tush turned towards Midoriya. Before he even moved, she said, "No full on grabbing though. I'm not ready for that."

Izuku gave a confident nod before scooting closer. In what seemed like an eternity, he reached out his hand closer and closer to the target.

"You got this Izuku!"

Being cheered on to pinch your girlfriend's butt was not normal in any means to Midoriya, but he took the words of encouragement to heart and placed his hand on her rump. It was here he realized he had never actually felt this part of her body. Hagakure had occasionally brushed her hand by his butt while they made out on the roof, but had never had his hands below her waist.

Finally, with his index and thumb, the trembling teen did the deed.

However, laughter came from Tooru. "I pinched harder than that. You can do better," she then said.

Izuku tried again, though with slightly more oomph. And then once more for good measure.

Hagakure then flipped onto her back, which startled her boyfriend. She then said in a flustered tone, "I think that's enough for today."

Midoriya agreed, and then laid beside her and said, "I-I guess we both don't know w-what came over us."

"To be truthful, I wanted to try something more is all. Our make-out sessions on the top of the dorm are nice and all but I had the sudden urge to spice it up."

"Are our sessions getting too boring?"

"No silly. We've both have improved a lot with french kissing, and I want to continue. I only had a dumb impulse today is all," Tooru explained. She then grabbed Izuku's left hand and continued by saying, "Thanks for letting me get away with my selfish desires and trying to be bold with me again."

"A-any time."

"Still though, I feel dumb fretting over something as harmless as a this," Hagakure stated with a sigh.

Midoriya wasn't sure at what to say, as it didn't feel like it was an innocent act. In fact, it was a big leap for him. Still, even Tooru seemed uneasy about it. It was nice to know for Izuku that she had limits too. If she didn't then how would he be able to keep up?

Regardless, how to respond, Midoriya pondered. Then an idea hit, and he said, "I'm sure it's just the awkwardness of trying something new is all, even if it is small as you say. Anybody is going to be embarrassed about going into a new experience."

"Being embarrassed is a rarity for me, so I guess you're right. You're the expert in that field of being flustered after all," Hagakure replied with a giggle.

The two then watched the sunset in silence before deciding it was time to head back to the dorms.

As they exited the forest, they saw Ida in the distance, though he was closing said distance quite fast. It was obvious he was using Recipro Burst.

Tooru shouted, "Evening, Ida-kun!"

Tenya came to a halt beside the couple looking exhausted. He took a few breaths to say, "You two just get back from a date?"

"Just a little picnic," Izuku answered. He then asked, "Training already?"

The class president nodded before explaining with, "Of course. My unique training requires me to push to greater heights despite my current handicap. If I want this to work cannot take long breaks, and I've put this off long enough because of the cultural festival."

Hagakure then asked, "So what does Uraraka-chan think about that?"

Ida's lips puckered up like he had just eaten a lemon and was quick to ask, "Please don't mention this to her! I beg you Hagakure-chan!"

Tooru then slyly asked, "So you snuck out to train huh?"

"Regrettably yes. Ochako does not approve how much I have been working on my new technique. Currently, she is taking a nap to help with her upset stomach. She ate too many sugary foods yesterday. But this is partly my fault cause I should have accompanied her to prevent this. Sweets are her weakness," Tenya explained while pacing back and forth.

Izuku then asked, "What did you do yesterday Ida-kun?"

"I was assisting Todoroki-kun. He looked perplexed at what to do so I attempted to show him a good time. Thankfully with the help of Koda-kun and Tokoyami-kun I believe it was a success. My mistake was leaving Tsuyu-chan with Ochako. It seems she did little to halt the rampage of the bountiful sweets that were offered."

"Caramel cookies," Hagakure then stated.

Ida then asked, "Excuse me?"

"Bake me some caramel cookies tonight, and I won't tell Uraraka-chan about you sneaking in some training," Tooru stated in an impish tone.

Tenya rose both his hands as he proclaimed, "Blackmail!?"

Hagakure shrugged as she asked, "Would you prefer she found out?"

With sagged shoulders, the class president stated, "Fine, but I will only bake them after I cook Ochako a nice veggie dinner. I must counteract all the desserts she ate with some healthy food first."

"Deal," Tooru said as she outstretched a hand. The two then shook on it.

"I should head back and shower before she wakes up. I'll see two later then," Ida said before turning around and activating his Recipro Burst once more.

Midoriya then sighed and asked, "Was that necessary Tooru? He's our friend."

"If he said no to my offer I wouldn't have said anything to Uraraka-chan. I just saw what I could get away with," Hagakure replied gleefully as she began to walk home.

"You still took advantage of him," Izuku stated as he began to follow her.

"It's all worth it if it involves that caramelly goodness," Tooru swooned.

Midoriya then thought, maybe it's not only Uraraka that has a weakness for sweets.

The two then continued in silence back to the dorms. Once they arrived, they were greeted to a scene of relaxation.

Sero, Kaminari, Mineta, and Sato were playing some game of cards. Kirishima was snoozing on a couch, while Asui was placing a blanket over him. Jiro and Yaoyorozu were listening to music together while wearing separate headphones. The former seemed to be in bliss at the music, while the latter looked confused. Ojiro and Koda were watching Mina snuggle Koda's rabbit.

Tooru then spoke up and said, "I'm going to go shower. Wanna join me for some free snacks later?"

"I'll think about it," Izuku replied. He was quite full at the moment, but there was no guarantee how he would feel by then. The idea of a shower did sound like a good one and he started to walk towards the guy's stairway. However, he was quickly stopped by a pink blur.

Ashido was quick to place her right hand on Midoriya's shoulder as she said, "There you are Midoriya-kun! I've been waiting for you all day!"

Izuku noticed Mina no longer had the bunny and looked to his side to see Koda had his pet sitting on his head. The large teen looked just as bewildered as Mashiro did.

Mina then asked with different tones, "So how was your date with Hagakure-chan? Suspenseful? Romantic? Scandalous? A dud?"

"It was just a picnic," Midoriya stated while holding up his hands defensively. The pink heroine hadn't been this inquisitive about his relationship with Hagakure since the first term. Izuku did twitch at the mention of scandalous; he hoped Mina wouldn't notice.

Ashido then let go of the boy's shoulder as she asked, "You two sure do date a lot, didn't you go out like two weeks ago?"

"We have an agreement to date at least once a month."

"But November just started."

"Tooru wanted to talk about the festival. She spent it with you and the others, not me, remember?"

Mina tapped a finger on her chin for a few moments before responding with, "Oh right. You were with that upperclassman that whipped our butts and Eri-chan." She then shook her head back and forth before saying, "Sorry I'm getting off subject of why I came over here."

Izuku asked, "What is it?"

Ashido lightly tapped the boy's head as she replied, "Teaching you how to dance properly, dummy. Did you already forget already?"

Midoriya put a hand up to his head and groaned. How could he forget? This was a huge opportunity to surprise his girlfriend. He then said, "Sorry, I did. I guess the cultural festival has dominated my thought process these last few weeks.

"Okay then, I getcha. Well, the festival is over now, so I'm free to teach you in private. Though because it's you this will definitely take more than a lesson or two," Mina stated with a sigh.

Izuku was quick to retort, "Hey, I got better!"

"Passing but not good either," Ashido huffed. She then said, "Ida-kun might have only been able to do the robot, but at least he was good at it. If we are going to impress your girlfriend, then you need to give me a hundred ten percent Midoriya-kun."

"Yes, ma'am," the boy proclaimed with a salute.

The card players turned their heads at the commotion coming from the entrance to the boy's stair hallway.

Mina then said in an irritated voice, "Keep it down. You want this to be a secret right?"

"Right, sorry," Izuku answered in a whisper.

Ashido then crossed her arms as she asked, "Alright, so when and where do you want to do this?"

"Give me a minute."

Midoriya then pondered, what would be the best day? Monday and Tuesday were out for sure due to TAC and Mei respectively. Sunday might conflict with video chats with the parents or any future dates. Izuku also didn't want things one right after the other. He eventually decided on Thursday but then came the bigger problem, where?

"Does Thursday work for you?"

Mina nodded before saying, "Yeah I can do that. Any ideas on where though?"

"Not a clue," Midoriya responded with a sigh.

"Hmm. Maybe I can come up with a place, but I need to check with someone first. Just leave it to me Midoriya-kun!"

Izuku then asked, "Thanks but what did you want in exchange for doing this?" This wasn't something he could forget at least.

"Oh we'll go over it on Thursday, don't you worry. Just sit tight until then," Mina replied with a devilish grin.

Midoriya gulped and then pondered, just what am I getting myself into here?

* * *

 **Two days late, but hey a lot better than the last couple of chapters!**

 **Work really started ramping up this week as I approach the end of the school year. This and the constant thunderstorms knocking out my internet these last few days gave me little time edit this chapter despite it being done for quite some time. At the very least 30 and 31 are written and are in the editing stages at the moment. I haven't touched chapter 32 minus a redone outline.**

 **Before we get to the chapter itself, a new milestone!**

 **1,000 Followers!**

 **This was achieved just a day after releasing chapter 28, and I was so ecstatic at the news. :3**

 **I planned to have a commission piece to celebrate this, but the idea morphed into a much bigger endeavor that will tie into Cubicity's upcoming second anniversary. Expect many pages of new art in July, including new cover art!**

 **It's been a while since I've written a chapter this short since chapter 3. It initially was closer to 7k words as I had some Koda and Ojiro stuff once Izuku returned to the dorms, but I decided the former would fit better in 30 and the latter even later than that. It was always planned to be just a single scene though. This was a transition/canon plot dump heavy chapter anyways, and they usually tend to be short for me.**

 **Things got a bit more intimate between the couple. A small step but I felt it was needed after an extended lack of progression, which was mostly offscreen since the last one. Izuku also being curious about some bum pinching just seemed to good to pass up.**

 **I want to focus a bit more on Ida and Uraraka's relationship on the side for the next couple of chapters, as I feel I have been giving MashMomo the spotlight for long enough. Plus it gives me more opportunity to use Ochako, which as I have previously stated, I've used the least of the six.**

 **Finally, we have Mina entering the scene. The dance practices will start substantial next chapter and then become less dominant will still stick around until chapter 33 or 34. I hope I can live up to writing Ashido, as she is my best girl and I would hate to let her fans down.**

 **I added a few more lines to Izuku and Tooru's date in chapter 29 concerning her contacts. Just a minor detail that I needed to add to address her using a sleeping mask and having contacts. It was a sort of a plot hole without it. :x**

 **Night Foliage also finished editing chapter 18 which had 54 edits and just started working on chapter 19.**

 **Chapter 30 for sure will cover everything up to the Pro Hero Arc, so it should cover about two weeks like Chapter 28 did. It is also quite long at 15k words at the moment. 31 is more modest at 9k. 32 is planned to be a short gap before the Joint Training arc, with 33 covering its aftermath. From there, things are getting quite cloudy, and things largely depend on how the Villain arc goes.**

 **Chapter 30 is releasing June 1st!**


	30. Latin Rhythms

Chapter 30: Latin Rhythms

"Sorry for calling you on such short notice, but I wanted us to speak in private before the next week's TAC meeting," All Might stated as he poured himself some tea. As he returned to his seat, he continued with, "I didn't want to interrupt your date more than I already had yesterday."

"It's no problem Yagi-sensei," Midoriya responded with a slight bow of the head.

Izuku received a text during lunch from his idol asking to meet after school. Many thoughts ran through the boy's brain as to what was to be discussed. Did it concern his Air Force Gloves performance? Gentle Criminal? The conversation with Tooru during the festival? All seemed like a high possibility.

"Hagakure-san took everything well it seems," Toshinori said before taking a sip of his hot drink.

With a nod, Midoriya replied, "It surprised me too." He then thought, perhaps she is the subject for today's meeting.

Yagi exhaled before saying, "I told her on Saturday it would be best for you to say what happened. I revealed there had been an incident that you were able to stop, nothing more. From there, we chatted about other subjects."

Izuku gulped before asking, "Like what?"

"Sorry, but I intend to keep my promise of not telling you. Even if you are my successor."

Midoriya sighed but responded with, "I understand."

The former pro hero groaned as he scratched the back of his head. He then said, "Look, I won't be specific, but the rest of our talk was nothing complicated. That was our first one of one conversation since I revealed our secret during the summer. In the end, we also exchanged numbers. Okay?"

Izuku then recalled Tooru speaking privately with his mom during their first date as a couple. Perhaps what was discussed before was similar to now. It also made keeping a secret from his girlfriend nigh impossible, the boy thought. Though, in the end, that was for the better. Midoriya didn't want another fallout like their first day at the dorms.

"That's enough to put me at ease. Thanks."

"Good, now with that out of the way, let's get to the point I brought you here," Toshinori stated as he reached into a pocket in his suit. He then placed two pictures onto the coffee table between them.

One was of Gentle Criminal.

The other Stain.

"Vigilantism. Taking one's justice into their own hands, outside the rules of our current hero system. To some, they are just villains of a different name, and to others, relics of the past. What I want to know, is your thoughts on such individuals," All Might explained in a heavy tone.

Izuku didn't know what to say. He hadn't thought too deeply on the subject. There was also the fact that All Might had considered Stain was a vigilante. Wasn't he always considered a villain due to his murders? Or was there something about Stain's past that he knew that Midoriya didn't.

Yagi noticed the confusion on his student's face and crossed his arms as he said, "Your run-in with both of these individuals had me sit down and reflect on the past and current state of vigilantism. During my time as the Hero of Peace, their numbers certainly fell going from police and media accounts I witnessed and acquired over the years. Whether this was because of me, or just the general decay of such ideals, I don't have definitive proof. Either way, their actions and how the people viewed them never really changed."

Toshinori then leaned forward as he continued, "If you recall, we discussed doing things different from me. Not only to have your own identity but to also be a better hero of peace than I was. I know this is very preliminary, considering you are still early into the hero course, but if given a chance, would you do something about vigilantism? I wanted to know your thoughts on such individuals as it might be something we could strive for or not."

Izuku better-understood why All Might was asking this from him but was no closer to how to answer it. He then remembered what his mentor said yesterday.

 _Sadly our society views any individuals outside the hero system as villains no matter how good their intentions._

Midoriya then asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what are your views on them, sir?"

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you," All Might answered before taking a large gulp of tea. He then continued with, "I ran into a lot of vigilantes in my career. More often than not, they leaned towards Stain's ideals, justice through overuse of violence. I captured many of his types, and some are still in Tartarus today. There were however some they were more in the grey area, like Gentle. I kept a close eye on his type and their activities if I could, and if they stepped out of line, I would let the authorities or other pros deal with them."

"So a case by case basis," Izuku stated as he placed a hand on his chin.

"Yes, however, even this approach is very liberal amongst the hero society. It's more black and white to most pros, and I don't blame them. The path of a vigilante is usually of selfish ideals of justice that tiptoes the lines of what's a hero and what's a villain with every action they take. It makes sense why so many fall towards the side that conflicts with the law."

He's not wrong, the boy thought. From what media he had consumed about vigilantes, it was dominated by stories of fallen, wannabe, or misguided would be heroes. Sure a mysterious masked chivalrous individual would pop up in the news from time to time who was outside the hero system, but the news was always lacking in details even to know if they had done any good. There was so little to go by to make a decision.

"Still puzzled huh, perhaps I was too forward in asking you this," the former pro hero stated before finishing his tea. Before Midoriya could respond, however, Yagi said, "Perhaps my account isn't the best to go off of. I do know of someone who deals with them as his job though. A friend of a friend of sorts. Maybe his insight could be of some help."

Izuku tilted his head as he asked, "Who is he?"

"In due time my boy, I'm giving away classified information telling you about his profession already. I need to sort out if you talking to him is even allowed, let alone if he wants to. So this might not be right away or even happen at all, but he's our best bet at giving both of us more information on this subject. I'll try and pull some strings to make this work."

"Thank you, Yagi-sensei. This is a difficult decision to make at such short notice, so another point of view would be greatly appreciated."

All Might nodded as he stated, "Use this time to gather your thoughts, and maybe do some research on your own." He then stood up and continued with, "In the meantime, continue honing your skills with the Air Force Gloves. I'm sure your friends and even Aizawa-san will be impressed when they see them first-hand next week."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

"Afternoon Midoriya-san," Power Loader stated without turning around from his work.

"Hello sir," Izuku responded as he looked around the workshop but saw no sign of Mei.

Maijima turned his head as he said, "Hatsume-san is in her room napping. Could you go wake her up? She's been sleeping since classes were over."

"I don't want to be a bother. If Hatsume-chan needs her rest, I can always come next week."

Izuku figured she was still exhausted from the festival.

"Hatsume-san has a good friend visiting her today and should greet her guest. Besides, she needs to at least eat dinner before calling it a day."

Midoriya gave a nod before making his way to his friend's room. Just before grabbing the doorknob he froze, and a thought occurred, he hadn't seen Hatsume's place before. Rarely did she ever go into it, and if she did, it was only for a few seconds.

Still, this was Mei. Izuku figured if anyone wouldn't care about the privacy of their room, it was going to be her.

Midoriya still wasn't prepared to see what he was currently seeing.

The room was about the size of a large closet. What was more strange was that the lights were on. The room was mostly Hatsume's bed and a footlocker to his left. The bed, however, was just a mattress on the ground. There were a few thin books on the ground by the mattress, a coat rack in the right corner with a laundry bag at its base, and finally a small shoe cubby to the left of the door. Besides this, there wasn't much to the room, not even a window.

Izuku then shook his head. He needed to wake his friend, not judge her living arrangements. The boy then turned his attention to Mei. She was sound asleep, her back towards her visitor and tightly wrapped in her blankets. From what he could see, she was wearing her usual black T-shirt.

Midoriya exhaled and then approached the side of the bed before saying, "Hatsume-chan, you need to wake up."

No response.

Izuku repeated it a bit louder.

Still nothing from Mei.

The boy groaned, and reluctantly outstretched his right arm and grabbed the girl's shoulder and gave soft shake as he repeated his words once more.

To Midoriya's relief, Hatsume started to stir. After a grunt, she turned over and rubbed her eyes.

Mei groggily stated, "Midoriya-kun? Is that time already?"

"Yeah, Maijima-sensei asked me to wake you up," Izuku replied as he took a step back.

"Sorry. I wanted to take a quick nap, but I guess the last couple of weeks are starting to catch up to me," Hatsume said while rubbing her eyes. She then motioned to get out of her bed but stopped abruptly. Mei lifted her sheets slightly and then sighed.

"Is everything okay?"

After a yawn, Hatsume answered, "I'm not exactly wearing pants at the moment. You probably don't want to be in here as I put some on."

"R-Right. E-Excuse me then," Midoriya stated as he made his exit.

After closing the door, the boy heard Maijiam ask, "She up?"

"She just needs a minute," Izuku replied as calm and collected as he could despite what happened.

"Thanks, Midoriya-san," Power Loader stated before continuing his work.

Midoriya rubbed his temple for a few seconds before walking over to Mei's workbench and placing his backpack on the floor. All things considered, that wasn't too bad, he thought. Still, Izuku was still surprised Mei acted so calm about it. Sure, he knew she was very open about her personal space but didn't expect it to extend this far.

As he pondered the situation, it wasn't long until Mei emerged from her room. She however immediately went into Power Loader's room.

Maijima then stood up as he said, "She's just getting some coffee." He then picked up his project and carried it over to a cabinet beside Midoriya before saying, "Welp that's done. I'm going to grab some dinner for both of us. You wanna join us?"

"Thanks, but I already promised to try some food from a friend," the boy replied. Aoyama wanted to share some cheese for dinner back at the dorms that his mom had delivered in the morning.

"Suit yourself," Power Loader said with a shrug. He then turned to leave.

"Maijima-sensei, before you go could I ask something about Mei's room."

The pro hero scratched the back of his head and groaned before, "I know. I know. It was Hatsume-san's choice, however."

"What?"

"When I approached her and parents this summer to go over the change of UA becoming a boarding school, she was adamant that she wanted to bunk in the workshop instead of her assigned dorm with the rest of 1H's student's. I wasn't going to let Hatsume-san live in my place for obvious reasons, and I couldn't just construct a room for her. Somehow she convinced her folks to live in one of my less cluttered storage rooms. Even offered to clean it and reorganize the entire workshop to accommodate all the stuff that had to leave that room," Power Loader explained.

Maijima walked on over to his student's workbench and said, "Considering all her tools and inventions are all she cares about are in the workshop itself, she doesn't have much in her room. Wouldn't even let me build a bed frame for her." The man sighed before turning to Midoriya to say, "Trust me; I want to do more for her Midoriya-san, but this is what she wants. She lives and breaths this workshop, for better or worse."

Before Midoriya could respond, Hatsume came out from Maijiame's holding a cup of coffee. She made her way over to the guys and cleared her throat, prompting Power Loader to step aside so his student could begin her work. The teacher then sniffed a few times before saying, "Wait, that's my brew."

"Wasn't in the mood to take the time to brew my usual blend," Mei stated before taking a large gulp of her drink.

"At the very least appreciate its flavor compared to the tar you usually drink," Maijima said before walking away. He then continued with, "I'm grabbing grub, be back in a bit," before closing the sliding door.

"He's in a fun mood this afternoon," Hatsume stated with a grin. She was currently working on some blueprint, but Midoriya couldn't tell what it was as she just started drawing it.

Midoriya waved a hand as he said, "I'm sure his hunger was getting the best of him."

"He can get hangry sometimes, especially during some of the allnighters," Mei stated with a chuckle.

Once his friend finished her laughter, Izuku said, "Sorry about earlier."

"Oh, hush. That was nothing. If anything I should be apologizing, as I almost got up anyways."

Midoriya face went crimson upon hearing this. As he fumbled to think of how to respond, he went to grab a stool. Once Izuku brought one over and sat down beside Mei, he asked, "What s-stopped you?"

"I thought about what Hagakure-chan would think. I don't want to anger her again like before," Hatsume responded in a serious tone. She then put down her pencil as she continued by saying, "I usually don't care what people think of me outside of my work. It's all just white noise most of the time. Classmates, teachers, and even clients it didn't matter. As long as I put out the results they desired, they moved on."

Izuku recalled Tenya's and Ochako's displeasure with working with the pink haired engineer. It wasn't hard to see why anyone might run into issues with her. Even Power Loader looked to be at his limits with his student at times. Midoriya then pondered, "What made Hagakure different to Hatsume?"

"Is Hagakure-chan still mad at me?"

Izuku shook as he head before saying, "Tooru is over it, I think. Any reservation she had with you melted away when I showed her the Air Force Gloves on Sunday."

Mei's sour mood immediately changed to being ecstatic as she said, "And how did my babies perform!?"

Midoriya then explained what he and All Might did in training, and what he briefly showed his girlfriend. Hatsume hung on every detail as if it was gold, and he was happy to see his friend as her usual self.

"It was difficult to test this baby out considering how much energy was needed with such a simple motion, so I'm glad it worked out in the end," Hatsume stated as she draped an arm around the boy.

"And that I wasn't hurt in the process, right?"

Mei slapped her friend's back, which startled him, as said, "You're quite durable Midoriya-kun, so that was never a concern."

"Thanks, I guess."

Hatsume returned to drawing her blueprint, which at this point Midoriya could see it was some helmet. The design looked similar to Uraraka's if visor wasn't open at the bottom.

Mei then said, "Regardless if Hagakure-chan has forgiven me, I want you know I'm sorry that made her feel so uncomfortable." She brought her hands up and turned them over to show her palms. "I got too excited about getting to working on equipment involving such a unique quirk. I wanted to know everything and well..."

"You can be a little too hands-on when you become fixated on a project."

"More than a little, but you're right."

Izuku then placed a hand on the girl's shoulder before asking, "What different this time?"

Hatsume shrugged and then explained, "I don't know exactly. At first, I figured it was because Hagakure-chan is your girlfriend. Another part of me thought maybe it was because Hagakure-chan was trying to help me, and I betrayed that by making her uneasy. That or you're starting to rub off on me."

"Me?"

"Just take the compliment, this is embarrassing enough as is," Mei stated with a grunt. She then said, "Sorry for not apologizing earlier."

"It's fine, you had to deal with the Cultural Festival at the time," Midoriya said, trying to comfort her.

Hatsume though still looked upset though.

Izuku considered his options on what he could do to change the subject once more. Within a few moments, he asked, "So how did your presentation go with the rest of students and faculty? I only saw it once since I had so much to show Eri-chan that day."

Luckily this uplifted Mei's spirits once more as she explained.

The rest of his visit was spent chatting while Hatsume did light work here and there. Izuku realized the two had never spoken this much before; usually, there was more work to be done, so it was a nice change of pace.

Eventually, Maijima returned with food and Midoriya made his leave to join Aoyama for some dinner.

* * *

Izuku walked through another door and looked down the third year's hallway of UA. In the distance stood Mina. She was leaning against the wall beside a small door and was looking at her phone. The girl was wearing black shorts and a T-shirt, with white sweatbands on her head and wrists. The regular classroom doors were usually massive, but this one was normal. This had him wonder, just what kind of room was this?

It was Thursday after dinner, and it was time to start dance lessons the boy had been promised.

"Evening Midoriya-kun," Ashido stated as she noticed Midoriya's approach.

"Hello, and thanks for setting this up for me Ashido-chan."

Mina grinned before saying, "You thank me now but I'm gonna put you through the wringer during these lessons. More so than during your training for the festival. We can't have Hagakure-chan be anything but flabbergasted at your skills of the dance."

Izuku gulped and then said, "Yes, ma'am."

Ashido then opened the door, showing the room was a makeshift dance studio. However, what Midoriya didn't expect to see was Aoyama in the middle of the studio, stretching. He was wearing a light purple long-sleeved shirt which had frills around his wrists, neck, and waist as well as jet black pants.

" _Te voilà_ Midoriya-kun. I only need a few more minutes to warm up before my body is ready," Yuga stated while stretching his back far enough back to see Izuku despite facing away from the new guest.

Izuku scratched his head as he asked, "What's Aoyama-kun doing here?"

"I did promise you to teach you ballroom dancing, but there are many types. I thought it would better show you the styles in person would be better than over my phone. Of course, I needed a partner to show you, and Aoyama-kun seemed like the obvious choice. Your both good friends, and out of the guys on the dance team he was the best despite his rocky start," Mina explained as she started to stretch herself.

Yuga cleared his throat before saying, "I've always been excellent _danseur_. You couldn't appreciate my style is all."

"Sure, that exquisite 'style' of yours," Ashido replied with a giggle.

Aoyama puffed his cheeks in protest to the girl's sarcasm but said nothing more on the matter.

"Well regardless, thanks for coming to help Aoyama-kun," Izuku stated as he made his way further in the room to better inspect it.

Yuga gave a thumbs up but continued his stretches in silence.

Midoriya then said, "I didn't know our school had such a place like this."

"It's only temporary. Class 3D used it as an idea for their part in the Cultural Festival, but it didn't pan out so they instead just did a barbeque. They were too lazy to put this away though and lucky for us, I was able to convince their class president to keep it this way until the second term is over," Ashido explained with pride.

Izuku then asked, "How did you pull that off?"

"After my group was done getting our pants scared off, besides Hagakure-chan, at 1C's haunted house, we got the case of the munchies and decided on 3D's delicious meats. When I went to compliment the chef, it turned out to be their class president. It was there I learned of their original plan, and they had made this room into a makeshift dance studio. This used to be a locker room before they rebuilt the gyms years ago to accommodate such things."

Yuga then said, "I prefer that over what we have now. It would mean we would get to walk the halls in our hero suits regularly."

Mina shook her head before saying, "Which would mean having to wait longer to change and shower after practice? No, thank you." She then turned her head to Izuku and asked, "You ready?"

Midoriya looked at the two in front of him and asked, "Am I even properly dressed for this today?" He was only wearing jeans and a long-sleeved dark green shirt.

"No dancing for you today. I want to pick a style you want and receive the first part of my payment," Ashido answered.

Aoyama then asked, "Payment? I thought we were doing this to help Midoriya-kun on the value of friendship alone."

Ashido pointed at Midoriya as she said, "Hey, he agreed to it."

Izuku sighed before saying, "I still don't know what it is, though." Also, the first payment? What did she mean by that?

" _Ordures._ "

Mina groaned before saying, "Speak normal Aoyama-kun."

"It means rubbish," Yuga huffed.

Ashido rubbed her temple as she stated, "Look, you'll both find out soon enough. Let's get this started."

Aoyama gave the nod and walked over until he was beside his partner.

"So first, ballroom dancing is split into three major groups: Standard, Latin, and Historical. Historical is a bit too old-timey for most people's tastes, and Standard has you follow the line of dance which complicates things unless you are dancing alone in a large area. So we're going focussing only on types of the Latin dance," Mina explained cracking her knuckles and fingers.

"Line of dance?"

Aoyama spoke up and said, "It's a counter-clockwise dance that has you do a large circle around the room. Unless you are in control of the dance floor or with a group doing a synchronized thing, it's not something you would do in a casual setting."

"Yeah, you usually see it more with performances or competitions. This is so you can dance at like a party," Ashido stated with glee.

Midoriya knew he wasn't a party sort of person but still did like the idea of learning a more casual type of dance.

"First up is _Bolero_ ," Mina stated as she grabbed one of Yuga's hands.

The two then did a short demonstration of the style with accompanying music from Ashido's phone. She would then give a brief explanation afterward.

There were eight that the duo performed.

The slow and sensual _Bolero_. The three-step pattern of the _Cha-cha-cha_. Jive and it's lifting of knees and the bending or rocking of the hips. _Mambo's_ fast and free form of rhythm. The briskly paced battle of dominance in _Pasodoble_. The quick-quick-slow step pattern of Rhumba. _Samba's_ steps with a downward action. And finally, jitterbug of swing.

Once it was all over, Aoyama was on his back and was breathing heavily.

Mina stood over him and asked, "Tired already?"

"That was perfection considering we only practiced that for three nights. Leave me be," Yuga huffed and puffed.

"I don't know. That was nice warm-up I guess," Ashido teased.

Aoyama wasn't having it and turned to his side, looking away from the girl.

Mina let the exhausted boy be as she asked, "So anything, in particular, catch your eye, Midoriya-kun?"

After a few moments, Izuku answered, " _Bolero_ and _Pasodoble_."

"Good eye. They both have the same purpose, so I guess it would make sense you would like both."

Midoriya looked confused upon hearing this, but Ashido was quick to explain, "Both are supposed to mimic the fight between a bull and a Toreador. Though the roles are different in each style. With _Bolero_ , the lead can be either gender, and they mimic the Toreador. The follow alternates between being the Toreador's cape or the bull itself. But with _Pasodoble_ , the man is always the Toreador. The woman is either the bull or cape, but not both."

Puzzled, Izuku asked, "What's a Toreador? I thought Matador was the one who fought bulls?"

Yuga then responded with, "I believe it's Ashido-chan's personal preference. If one fights a bull but never kills it, they are called a Toreador. If the bull is killed, the fighter is then deemed as a Matador." He then got up and said, "You don't want to associate the dance with the violence it represents, am I right?"

Mina sighed and only gave a nod in response.

Midoriya assumed that Aoyama knew since he was from Europe, where the sport was popular.

" _Comme tu es pur_ ," Aoyama stated as he walked towards a bottle of water that was near the door.

Ashido's eyes leered as she asked, "Excuse me?"

"I said, how pure you are," Yuga replied before taking a drink.

Mina seemed baffled in how to respond. She then sighed before saying, "So do you want to learn the slow _Bolero_ or fast _Pasodoble_?"

Izuku liked the slowness of _Bolero_ , but it was much more suggestive than most of the dances the duo performed. _Pasodoble's_ lively energy felt like it would complement Tooru's personality but was way too brisk for him to follow. In the end, the entire point of this was to be a romantic surprise for his girlfriend, so Midoriya answered, "I want to try to learn _Bolero_."

Ashido looked ecstatic at the response and came over to slap the boy's back before saying, "Look at you being so daring. I'm sure Hagakure-chan will be flattered beyond doubt once we get you up to speed."

"So about this payment," Aoyama inquired with a suspicious glare at the pink-haired girl.

"Oh, that? I want to hear the details behind how Hagakure-chan and Midoriya-kun became a couple. Nothing big," Mina said with a shrug.

Izuku then asked, "Tooru never told you?"

"I mean, she tried. She was going to tell us the night after you two being a thing during the summer trip, but you both know how that went."

Yuga then asked, "And you haven't asked about it since?"

"I mean Hagakure-chan had always been deflective any time I asked how she felt about Midoriya-kun. And during lunch that day of confirming your involvement with her, she said she'd tell the other girls and me once it was bedtime. Telling me was on her terms. Then everything went to shit that night and once we back in school it just didn't feel right to ask her again," Mina explained while taking off her sweatbands then grabbing a towel and putting it around her neck.

Midoriya then asked, "So asking me is fine?"

"It's the next best thing. Plus there might be things you might mention that she wouldn't."

"Well, I'm in on this," Aoyama said with a tone of eagerness.

Ashido gave a thumbs up with a grin as she stated, "Sure thing. You helped a lot today, so might as well."

Midoriya sighed. He wasn't against telling her, she was doing him a great service, but two things did concern him. "You're not going to bother her with anything I disclose are you?"

Mina rose a hand as she responded with, "I shall not. Besides, I don't want to cause any trouble between you two."

"I swear to do the same," Yuga stated, but with a hand over his chest.

"None of the guys would care about this though," Ashido said in a confused voice.

Aoyama huffed, "It's about trust between good friends."

Midoriya then stood between the two with his hands raised, "Alright, I believe you both. One more thing though Ashido-chan. What did you mean by this being 'part one' of my payment?"

"Simple. One lesson. One payment."

"But I didn't learn anything today."

"No, but we did learn what style you want to learn. It still counts."

"Okay then, but what are the other 'payments' then?"

"You'll find out in due time."

" _Comment Sournois_ ," Yuga stated before groaning.

Ashido shot a glare at Aoyama who quickly looked away from her as he said, "Let's get on with this. Midoriya-kun might have a long tale to tell, and I do not want to be here all night bickering with you Ashido-chan before that."

"Whatever. So anyways, Midoriya-kun let's start at the beginning, when did you two meet?"

Midoriya sat down and leaned back against the wall as he began by saying, "Well, we first encountered each other minutes before the U.A. entrance exam..."

* * *

Izuku and Tooru walked into the dorms hand and hand. They were returning from the library, having finished their weekly video chats with their parents.

"I'm gonna go take a nap Izuku, I'll text you when I get up," Hagakure stated before giving her boyfriend a quick peck on the lips. She didn't sleep well last night due to a headache and was already struggling to stay awake while they talked to their folks.

"R-right," Midoriya said as his eyes scanned the room for any classmates.

Koda and Kaminari were chatting in the kitchen, Yaoyorozu was reading by her lonesome, and Uraraka was sprawled out on the couch. A small crowd this afternoon.

Tooru quickly made her way upstairs, but Izuku instead walked on over to Ochako. Once he was behind the couch she was laying on, he asked, "You okay Uraraka-chan?"

The girl in question groaned. Without even opening her eyes, she answered back, "Afternoon Midoriya-kun. I'm fine, just resting from running with Tenya."

"I thought you didn't want him pushing himself too hard, what changed?"

"It was a light exercise, well for him. I forbid him to use his quirk; he uses it enough in class. Of course, even without his engines, Tenya is plenty fast," Uraraka explained with a sigh.

"So he wore you out."

Ochako nodded with a shaky grin on her face. She then opened her eyes and sat up. Izuku then walked around the couch and sat beside her.

Uraraka then asked, "So how did talking with the folks go? Did you show them the video of our performance?"

"Yeah, they loved it, even if Tooru's mom thought the dresses for the girls were a bit too flashy. I'm glad someone recorded it, having to explain on the crazy stuff that happened would have taken forever," Midoriya replied with a chuckle.

"Awww, Mrs. Hagakure didn't like our costumes? Well, I guess they did show a lot of leg."

"Not that it matters for Tooru," Izuku said with a shrug.

"Right? Her mom sounds like a handful."

Midoriya scratched the back of his head as he stated, "Tooru has a bigger issue with her mom than I do. I'm sorta used to having a helicopter parent."

"Hmm. Both of mine are pretty free-spirited and supporting anything I do. The only time I rag on them is my dad being a dork around strangers. Though I guess I'm lucky that Tenya finds his behavior as interesting," Uraraka stated with a shrug.

"Well, Ida-kun is a 'dork' too, so it's only natural," Izuku stated with a snicker.

Ochako huffed, "Excuse me, he's a genius with awkward robot tendencies. There's a difference."

The two then had a good laugh.

Once both had stopped, Uraraka said, "I think I'm gonna take a nap. I thought after a shower, I would stay awake, but I'm sorta drifting in and out here."

"Enjoy your rest then, I'll see you at dinner," Izuku said with a thumbs up.

Ochako gave a sleepy nod before heading upstairs.

Midoriya stood up, but before he could leave to head to his room, he heard a voice to his side.

"Midoriya-chan could I have a minute."

Izuku turned to see Koji with no sign of Denki. He asked, "What's up?"

Koda took a seat on the couch before saying, "I'm uh, going to a live band performance with Kaminari-kun and Jiro-chan next Sunday."

"That's great! I'm guessing you want some advice?"

"No, I think I would be able to handle it. It's going to be a small gig and be outdoors, which doesn't seem too scary," Koji said with some confidence in his voice.

Confused, Izuku asked, "Then what's the issue?"

Koda looked around as if making sure the coast was clear, despite the only person being nearby being Yaoyorozu who was too far anyways to hear their conversation. He then sighed before saying, "I think I was invited as an afterthought. So I'm not sure if I want to go and be a burden."

"What makes you think that?"

"Jiro-chan asked Kaminari-kun about it first earlier this week. It wasn't until a few minutes ago that I was told about it," Koji responded while sagging his shoulders. He then paused before saying, "I think Kaminari-kun was just being friendly and tried to get me to come too."

That explained what the two were talking about earlier, Izuku thought. He then said, "So you think he had to convince Jiro-chan the last couple of days to invite you too?"

"Yeah. Especially since it was him, not her, that ended up telling me about it. I don't want to get in b-between them."

It took Midoriya moment before he understood what was being said. He then asked, "You think they like each other?"

"I'm not sure. Sometimes it's easy, and other times it's not. You and Hagakure-chan weren't difficult for me to guess. Uraraka-chan was very obvious for me, but I guess most people just saw her as good friends with Ida-kun. It took me a while to notice what was going on between Ojiro-chan and..."

In a strained but soft voice, Izuku interrupted Koji by saying, "Wait, you know about that?!"

Koda placed his hands over his mouth. He then said in a muffled voice, "I haven't told anyone I swear."

"When did you notice?"

"After the license exams. Ojiro-chan's eyes tend to wander towards her, but the big hint was the tail wagging. He used to do that when he was very excited at our last school, but it was a common point that people poked fun at him, so he stopped doing it. It wasn't as pronounced as before, but I saw him do it a few times during hero training in these last few months," Koji explained after removing his hands from his face.

Midoriya then pondered, so Ojiro's tail wag during the karaoke night wasn't just a one-time thing. He then shook his head; this was getting off topic, and then asked, "So what about the last two?"

Koji took a few breaths before explaining with, "Jiro-chan is hard to read sometimes. It's easy to tell what upsets, embarrasses, or humors her but everything else I'm clueless about. I'm not very good with sarcasm, and she uses it a lot while also being blunt too. Kaminari-kun is well, dense. Sure he's very expressive with his emotions which makes him like an open book, but it's difficult to pinpoint if he sees Jiro-chan as a good friend or something more. He treats her just like one of the guys it seems."

Considering how observant Koda was, Midoriya believed in his frustration at the very least. He then brainstormed possible solutions until a thought crossed him.

"Do you like Jiro-chan more than just as friends?"

Koda's quick jump at the statement and beet red blush only confirmed his thoughts.

"Do you need a minute?"

Koji nodded as he said, "Y-Yeah."

While Koda calmed down, Midoriya continued going over his thoughts on the matter.

After a few minutes of silence, Koda stated, "It's a dumb c-crush. I'm sure with time I'll get over it. Let's focus on what's happening next week for now."

"Did this start from the first term's exam?" Considering the footage he saw of their exam, Izuku figured it might have begun there.

"Sorta, I mean it had me look at her in a new light, and things festered over the summer, especially after she was knocked out during the training camp. Then I saw her walking to U.A. during the start of the second term and I c-caved h-hard," Koji explained as he covered his face in shame.

Midoriya placed a hand on his friend's shoulder as she said, "It doesn't sound like this will just go away given time, Koda-kun."

"Perhaps, but there's no way she'd ever want a guy like me."

"You won't know until you ask."

"Please Midoriya-chan, I know you mean well, but the just the simple consideration of asking her o-out is t-too much. Can we focus on next weekend for now?"

Izuku patted Koji's back before saying, "Alright no more on that subject, but I do have something you should consider about Jiro-chan's choices about this live performance.

"What would that be?"

"I'm sure she's been to live concerts before, right?"

"Yeah, Jiro-chan has mentioned them a few times."

"Were they a big event?"

Koda nodded, "Always at some big stadium with a huge crowd."

"I'm guessing you dislike those both."

A pitiful nod from Koji followed.

It made sense to Izuku, considering Koda skipped out on attending the shopping trip the class had after their final exams from the first term. The claustrophobia was a guess, but it turned out to be accurate as well. He then explained, "Have you considered that Jiro-chan chose to this particular band cause of your fears that would crop up at what she usually attends?"

"But then why didn't she invite me herself?"

"Perhaps she was waiting to tell you next week. However, Kaminari-kun was, well being himself and went ahead and told you about it cause he was overexcited," Izuku said with a shrug. He wouldn't put it past Denki was probably terrible at keeping secrets.

The suggestion seemed to heighten Koda's spirits, though, and he stated, "Perhaps."

"Maybe you should ask her about it at dinner tonight?"

"I'll consider it, thanks again Midoriya-chan."

* * *

"I hope you all enjoyed your break from these TAC meetings," All Might stated.

Aizawa sighed and then said, "More so, I hope you all came up with solutions to our concerns from our last session in October."

A multitude of "yes sir/sensei!" echoed throughout gym gamma. Everyone in TAC was suited up and ready to resume their team training.

The homeroom then said, "Good. Well, let's get the easy one out of the way. Ida?"

"Still in progress sensei. I'm hoping to be ready by December."

"Fair enough, you're gonna need it," Eraserhead said with a smirk.

The students gave questionable looks at another at this statement.

"Uraraka-san you're next," the former pro hero stated.

Ochako grabbed Tenya's arm as she said, "We're gonna develop Super Moves to help with my mobility issues."

Izuku imagined the two rocketing around the air tagging villains left and right leaving them helpless. It was a scary combo.

Shota looked intrigued as he said, "I see. Taking what you learned from your time with Ryukyu are we? I look forward to what you two develop new techniques." He then looked to Izuku as he said, "Think fast."

A tennis ball was then hurled in the air by All Might, and after a moment of concentration, Midoriya readied his force glove and fired an air bullet. The ball exploded open with great force flew to the left upon impact. A large pop then echoed throughout the room.

"You weren't kidding All Might," Aizawa stated in surprise.

"It still needs improvement, though. Midoriya-san, you hit it too far to the right," Yagi complained as he went to go retrieve the broken ball.

"Sorry, sensei."

"The hell was that Midoriya-kun," Ojiro said as he began shaking his friend.

"I told you I wanted to show you something cool in the locker room didn't I," Izuku said with a grin.

The rest of the club, beside Tooru, asked about his new equipment in a frenzy.

Eventually, the scene angered Eraserhead enough to proclaim, "Alright we get it! Midoriya-san can answer the rest of your questions after today's session!" He then exhaled loudly before more calmly, asking, "Hagakure-san, please state your solution."

"I have two pieces of equipment in the works that should help Aizawa-sensei, but due to the nature of my quirk it might be some time until they are finished."

Eraserhead groaned as he said, "I'll inquire about the specifics of what they are later. Until then, though I suggest, we have you continue the work you started with Ragdoll and learn to spar better. Ojiro-san should be able to teach you plenty of defensive moves."

All Might cleared his throat before asking, "And speaking of you Ojiro-san, do you mind telling us what you came up with?"

"I'm going to train with Yaoyorozu-chan. She's weapon specialist of the class, so if I'm going learn how to better deal with long range attacks, then she's my best bet in this club. She's already agreed to the training."

"Wonderful, that only leaves you Yaoyorozu-san," Yagi stated.

"As Ida-kun suggested weeks ago, I should create items before a battle to quicken my response time and possibly support the team," Momo said before placing a hand on her exposed stomach. Her lower chest began to glow as she pulled a black bag from it. She then said, "I call it the Lucky Bag! I've only focused on being able to create the bag and simple objects inside of it. Nothing complex as of yet."

All Might gave three short claps before saying. "Excellent, all of you. Now let's refine those ideas or equipment."

Eraserhead then explained, "With that in order let's go over tonight's focus. Ojiro-san and Hagakure-san will be sparring together. Uraraka-san and Ida-san will start developing Super Moves. Yaoyorozu-san I want you to work with All Might to think of a list of objects that would beneficial for your teammates in most situations. And finally, I'll oversee Midoriya-san's new equipment. For the next few weeks, we will work on these weaknesses of yours. Things might change week to week, for example, next week Ojiro-san will work with Yaoyorozu-san, but the goal will still be the same. Now let's split up."

Aizawa immediately approached Midoriya and motioned him to follow, and the boy did as such. Once the two were far away from the others, the teacher said, "Impressive gloves you have there. They must have helped a lot against the Gentle Criminal."

Izuku gulped, so he knew. He then said, "They did. Without them, I wouldn't have been able to stop him from fleeing."

Shota then stopped and opened the door leading outside.

"Outside?"

"While your aim is quite good despite only having those gloves just over a week, I still don't want any misfires damaging the gym. I can't have Cementoss come every Monday night," Eraserhead said as he held open the door for his student to follow.

They both then exited the gym.

As the two began walking towards an open field, Izuku stated, "Sorry about what happened at the festival."

"On the contrary, I think you did the right thing this time Midoriya-san. You perceived him as a non-lethal threat and wore him down so our security could apprehend him without incident. All the while just receiving a few cuts and bruises. You've come a long way, minus having terrible luck."

"You're not mad at all?"

"I mean at the very least you should have phoned All Might about the situation so we could potentially dealt with Gentle before he was able to get onto school grounds. Regardless, the amount of chaos he would have done if we had to close the festival would have been devastating both for the morale of the students and the media against us. It wasn't perfect, but nothing ever is. Just be glad everything worked out in our favor," the homeroom teacher answered. He then stopped in the middle of the field and pulled a remote out of his pocket.

"All Might set this up earlier today, and after seeing your new equipment in action, I think this is the perfect training for you."

Suddenly a popping sound came from Midoriya's left side, and he looked to see a tennis ball flying in the air.

With a cocky grin, Aizawa explained, "A bunch of these machines are hidden in the bushes around this area. I control what direction and what machine will shoot the balls. Let's see how many you can hit accurately before you run out of steam."

"Oh geez," Izuku said before hearing another pop come from far behind him.

* * *

"Well you're early," Mina said in surprise as she entered the temporary dance studio. She was wearing the same outfit as last week.

"I'm just excited to get started," Izuku stated. He was wearing green shorts with a white t-shirt.

"Well hold your horses, today I want the payment at the start."

The start? Midoriya wondered, what else did Ashido want? He had already given an account of everything from his first meeting with Hagakure. To her confessing to him on the beach during her birthday.

"Tonight I want to hear how you got Hagakure-chan to forgive for not telling her about you trying to rescue Bakugo-kun. She was quite upset weeks after that, and I want to know how you pulled it off. And unlike last time, I want all the details."

"All of them?"

"All of them!"

Izuku groaned. This meant to understand the full context of everything; he would have to tell Mina about his past with Kacchan. He was reluctant to open old wounds but wanted to impress Tooru more than the retelling the scars of the past.

And so after about thirty minutes, Midoriya had given his recount of what happened. From, Hagakure coming to his room to learn the whole truth to the gradual mending of their relationship.

"So please, don't be too hard on Kacchan. He's slowly becoming a better person," Izuku said to finish he explanation.

"I see your point, okay. Though I have to agree with Hagakure-chan. If he truly wants to make amends he needs to apologize to you and tell everyone else in our class," Mina said in a pout. She then groaned before saying, "Here let's start practice so I can focus on something else. If I don't, I might melt a wall in frustration."

Izuku gulped before saying, "Yes, ma'am."

Ashido put on her sweatbands as she explained, "Alright so _Bolero_ can be split into five parts: _Paseo, Traversa, Differencias, Finales, and Bein Parado_. _Paseo_ is the intro as you both come into your dance position. _Traversa_ is the crossing you do in between steps. _Differencias_ is a group of steps to show off-balance and grace between the pair. _Finales_ is the sensual parts of the dance as you cross between another. Finally, _Bein Parado_ is acknowledging the crowd, if you have one, then having a short embrace, and then bowing out."

Midoriya's jaw was ajar upon hearing all this new information, "So intricate. You know stuff like this for every dance?"

"I know the basics of most. Though I still had to do some detailed research for this. I might not have the best grades, but I'm quite passionate about my hobbies," Mina stated with an air pump of her fist. She then walked over to her phone and began clicking away.

"What are you doing?"

"Ballroom dances go with the music. I'm just pulling up the playlist I chose for us to practice on."

"Any specifics about the music that's needed?"

"4/4 time is all; it doesn't even need to be Latin. We take a step on the first beat, hold on the second, and then step on third and fourth. You'll get the hang of it."

Ashido then placed her phone down and said, "But first we're just going to use a metronome so we can get that pattern down." She then offered her right hand to Midoriya.

Izuku took it with his left and Mina quickly pulled him in. Once close together, she raised their grasped hands and placed her opposite behind his armpit.

"Now you do the same to me."

"R-Right," Midoriya stated while slowly copying her position.

"Come on you've been dating a girl for almost half a year. If you stutter and hesitate here before we even begin, we'll be here till we're 2nd years."

"Okay, sorry."

"Good, now play metronome."

Ashido's phone began to play a loud beat at regular intervals. She then dragged the boy around as she said, "One," then paused for a beat before continuing with, "Three, Four."

After the third round, Izuku started to catch on and attempted to do the same. At first, he paused too long on the second step. Then on the fourth, he moved too early, and Mina would step on his toes. However, after about twenty more repetitions, he was starting to follow it well.

A few minutes passed until Mina stated, "Metronome stop." And the phone did as told.

"There, not too hard. Sorry about your feet there. That's going to happen a lot during our first couple of lessons," Ashido stated with a giggle.

"It's okay. It's a good motivator for me to do it right."

"Hopefully that is the same with Hagakure-chan when you teach her this once I feel you're good enough to do this on your own."

Midoriya nodded before saying, "I hope she's as willing to learn as I am."

"I bet she will love to do this with you once she gets the chance. However, if all else fails you can slow dance with Hagakure-chan. Anyone can learn that quickly."

"Slow dance?" There was a dance even slower than _Bolero_? Was this not a ballroom dance like the others?

"It's not a concern for now. Let's focus on _Bolero_ for now. Let's try doing some _Paseos_. Then we can combine them with the beat before we start adding some _Traversa_ to the mix."

With confidence, Izuku stated, "I'll do my best to keep up Ashido-chan!"

"Now that's what I want to hear, Midoriya-kun!"

* * *

 **Hoo boy, another chapter!**

 **And some new milestones!**

 **The obvious one is hitting 30 chapters, but another was reached on May 14th.**

 **Over 200,000 views!**

 **It's amazing we've gotten this far, and we still are not even two years into this fic yet. Well, until next month.**

 **Speaking of which I decided to split the 2nd-anniversary commission that I had planned. It initially was going to be five pictures, with the first being the new cover art for Cubicity. However, a particular artist recently opened up their commissions, and I love their art style and want them to create the new cover art. It will just be a two-part celebration now. Also, expect a three swimsuit themed commission with a similar couples theme to the Christmas one I made last year sometime later this month.**

 **I know I initially planned the chapter to be 15k, but I decided to scrap some scenes and add them to the next chapter to even things out better. 32 will now start with the Pro Hero arc and cover the gap before the Joint training arc.**

 **But enough of that, into the chapter we go!**

 **I wanted to delve more into All Might and Eraserhead's reactions to the Gentle battle. More the former than the latter, but still significant. Also, it was the perfect time to introduce the question of Vigilantism. I adore the Vigilante spinoff and the moral dilemma that introduce to the hero society. We'll explore more this later in 31 and beyond, don't worry it's not getting shelved for long. And the individual who All Might wants Izuku to meet? I left the answer in something outside the fic itself but don't worry if you don't find it. It will be answered next chapter.**

 **I had a blast writing the first dance scene. Initially, this was only going to have Mina but the inclusion of Aoyama, once I considered it, seemed like a no brainer to do. I do have a personal question though for you readers. Do I overuse Yuga using French? I feel like I have a nice balance having Mei saying "baby" and "babies," but I think that's less impactful than a foreign language.**

 **Moving on, the last thing I want to discuss is Koda. Yes, he has a crush on Jiro! Though I feel I made that super obvious, I was going this route. This is the first minor ship I'm introducing to the fic. There's one more minor ship I want to do, and it's waaaay out there, but it's not time to reveal that yet. I almost didn't want that known this chapter and would maybe push it off till later, but I eventually said, screw it's been a long time coming. Even then, Koji has a lot more coming before anything gets spicy. :3**

 **Also, Night Foilage edited chapter 19, with 38 total edits.**

 **So, I'll see you readers in July for Chapter 31 and 32!**

 **I'll release 32 early to celebrate Cubicity's 2nd anniversary on July 23rd.**


	31. A Thin Line

Chapter 31: A Thin Line

The officer behind glass asked, "You lost kid?"

Izuku turned his head and approached the man at his desk before answering, "No, sir. I was asked to meet someone here. A detective to be exact."

"Really, Well, let's confirm that shall we?" The man in uniform checked his computer, and after a few moments of clicks of both his keyboard and mouse, he asked, "Your name?"

"Izuku Midoriya."

The officer then nodded and pointed to his right using his thumb as he said, "Luckily, you there happens to be one waiting for you in his office. Head down this hallway until you get to the elevator and then take it up to the tenth floor. From there take an immediate left and the room your looking for will be the last one on the left."

Midoriya thanked the officer and began to make his way as directed once the security door beside the man opened. As he walked, the boy was feeling a mix of thrill and suspense. All Might had contacted him yesterday and stated they had been permitted to talk to the individual who specialized in dealing with vigilantes. Once Izuku was done with his weekly video chat, he had some lunch and left for Tokyo. The train ride wasn't too bad since Musutafu was close to the capital and it was Sunday, so the crowds weren't too thick. The walk to the Midoriya's destination from Kasumigaseki station only took a few minutes as well.

Izuku had only been to Tokyo a couple of times, though each with his mother. It had been a few years since his last visit, and this was his first going alone. Midoriya, however, had never been this far into the capital. The Imperial Palace was just across the street from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, with only a moat separating it from the busy street. He was almost tempted to visit the garden beside the palace that was open to the public but knew he should get back to study. There was a written test tomorrow.

The boy arrived at the elevator, and as he did it opened, and a female officer carrying some papers was inside. She made no reaction to his presence and quickly left. Izuku stepped inside and pressed the number ten on the keypad, and the elevator began to rise.

Midoriya knew little about this person he was about to meet. It wasn't until yesterday that he learned the individual was a detective and just now was it revealed it was a man. He thought if this person worked with the police, wouldn't that mean he pursued them for arrest? If so, wouldn't the detective have a biased view upon vigilantes? However, All Might trusted this person's opinions over his own, so perhaps it wasn't as cut and dry at first glance.

The elevator came to a halt, and Izuku made leave by going left once he exited. His anticipation quickly built as he walked down the hallway. The last door on the left was not labeled, which was odd, considering the rest he passed were. They all had a person's name and then their title as well as a small window on the door. This one was completely different by being completely bare.

Midoriya gave a knock and heard some movement from within. Suddenly, two beats were made from inside. Izuku formed a soft smile on his face as he responded with three knocks and a jiggle of the doorknob.

The door then unlocked and opened. All Might was there and said, "I'm glad you still remembered the secret greeting. I didn't expect to have to use it until I arrived."

A gruff voice from behind the former hero then stated, "That's on me All Might. I should have had security outside to keep this more private."

Midoriya paused for a moment. He recognized the voice, one that he hadn't heard since July.

Toshinori stepped aside, and Izuku saw Mashirao's father sitting behind a desk. He quickly looked around the room. It was well organized and smelled of some sort of sweet tea. There were no windows, and the one light on the ceiling wasn't very bright, which made the room dimly lit. There was a hum that Midoriya recognized, and he turned to his right to see an air purifier, the same brand as the one back at Ojiro's house.

"I guess we both underestimated the stir my presence would bring, even at such a bureaucratic place like this," All Might said while rubbing the back of his head.

Ojiro shrugged but then turned his gaze towards his guest who was looking quite bewildered. He grinned as he asked, "Surprised?"

"Your son never mentioned you worked with Vigilantes," Midoriya said as he stepped inside the office.

"Cause Mashirao doesn't know. There's a lot of classified information I must keep a secret, even with my family. Though in this case, my wife knows the specifics of what I do here. Especially since she is a cop too."

Yagi closed door as he said, "Ah yes, you mentioned her earlier. Does she work at this station too?"

Ojiro shook his head as he answered, "No. She's at a small station that is much closer to home. Though I started my profession there before I got this job."

Midoriya scratched his head as he asked, "What is your job? You don't even have a title on the door like the others."

"An investigator of vigilante activity. At least to most of the people here. However, if you ask the right people, I'm the head of the Vigilante Task Force," the detective explained. He then chuckled before saying, "Even if I am the only permanent member of the group."

"But why the secrecy, even among your coworkers?"

Yagi then replied, "Because vigilantism is even more loathed with the police than with pro heroes. To work with them would be very controversial if made public."

"Indeed. Many of my superiors still think my work is unethical and borderline illegal. I feel I only have this job because I have the approval of the Superintendent General."

Superintendent General? Izuku almost gasped aloud upon hearing this. That position was held only by the Chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the 2nd highest law enforcement position in the entire country. Just what did Mashirao's dad have or do that could have such a person's trust?

Midoriya then sat down at one of the two chairs in front of the desk. Yagi took a seat as well, to his student's left. Izuku collected his thoughts and then asked, "So you work with vigilantes that follow the law?"

Ojiro rubbed his neck and coughed before saying, "Existing as one is already considered illegal to most people. I work with a wide range of individuals, and a 'lawful' vigilante is quite a rare term among them. Even then, they are a fickle bunch and can just as quickly turn into villains at a moment's notice."

All Might then asked, "So why even work with them?"

"Right. The whole reason you two came here today. Never thought I would be talking to All Might over the phone, let alone in person," the detective replied. He then took a deep breath before explaining, "After graduating with my degree in Criminal Justice, I was hoping I would put on cases involving white-collar crime, but that wasn't the case."

Izuku guessed it had to do with the injustice the man and his family dealt with in his youth. Also, considering his condition, white-collar crime would have him in the office more often than blue-collar would.

"I was given cold or low priority cases. As I was a rookie, it made sense I was given the unwanted tasks. However, I wanted to get out of such work as quickly as possible. I thought if I did a good enough job, I would be promoted or at the very least be given a choice on what I wanted to work with. So I focused on the one thing almost everyone avoided. Vigilantes."

Midoriya then asked, "What kind of cases were involved with them?"

"The most common is identification. We get eyewitness reports or footage of unidentified heroes from the public, media, or heroes themselves. I would first double check to make sure it wasn't some pro hero that was undercover or a newly debuted hero as that happens from time to time. From there, I would determine the conduct of the individual. What was it they did? Was there anything questionable in their methods? Are there any other incidents that are similar in profile? Because with vigilantes, they often change their appearances. Either because to avoid being identified or because they lack the resources to construct a suit or easily repair it since they are outside the hero system."

Ojiro then coughed and grabbed a water bottle. As he drank, the boy noticed a concerned look on his idol's face.

The detective then spoke up and said, "Sorry. Had a lot of meetings this morning so my throat is already a bit sore."

All Might tried to say, "If you're not feeling well..."

"That's me by default, you get used to it. Midoriya-san can fill you in on the details later to All Might if he wishes. But for now, I want to focus on how I got here."

Yagi sighed but nodded before saying, "Go ahead."

"The other cases involved pursuing arrest, sometimes from what I learned from the identification cases. Tracking down these individuals and finding their true identity was a specialty of mine. In both types, they were deemed too costly of money and human resources or extremely difficult to do by most of my peers. So after two years of arresting about five high profile perps thought to have escaped justice forever, I was given a promotion, but it was to focus on the vigilantes exclusively."

Izuku then asked, "Were you disappointed?"

Ojiro shook his head before he explained, "No. By my second year, I started to enjoy the work. Plus with the promotion, I did get the choice to choose who to pursue and more resources to work with. Three more years passed, and I got assigned an assistant, Tsukauchi-san. We worked together for several years until we both received a promotion. He went to work directly under pro heroes, eventually being assigned under All Might, and I was moved up to here."

The detective leaned forward in his seat before saying, "After the previous Superintendent General retired, within days of the new one being appointed, he approached me. 'What are your thoughts on these vigilantes?' I remember him asking. 'Do any deserve anything but an arrest?' We talked along those lines for the coming days. And by the end of the month, he set up the Vigilante Task Force for me. No longer was I working under the jurisdiction of a single ward, but the entire Tokyo Metropolis. My access to resources skyrocketed and I could even command a temporary riot company if I needed."

"So you're basically equal in rank to a Chief Inspector," All Might said with curiosity in his voice.

"Basically. Wish I got that kind of pay though," the detective stated before chuckling.

Midoriya then proclaimed, "But sir, don't you need...!"

Ojiro interrupted the boy by quickly saying, "It would be quite suspicious if I was paid that kind of salary considering my cover. That's not the topic for today, but do know me and my family manage just fine, Midoriya-san."

Yagi seemed confused at this exchange, but then said, "We'll discuss whatever it is later Midoriya-san."

Izuku just nodded in defeat. It just didn't seem fair that Mashirao's father was doing all this extra work but not being paid at the rate he should despite being in dire need of it.

"Anyways, my new job while at first glance was just an expansion of my previous one and that's what the public sees. But under wraps, it was to be a liaison to vigilantes deemed usable by my account. I used them as sources of information on villain activity and in ways that pro heroes are not able to."

"The dirty work," All Might said in a stern voice.

"More or less. Though nothing too drastic, I assure you. Sometimes though bureautic tape gets in the way of work for pro heroes. These individuals have been essential to some of the crime busts we had in the last decade. They would have been impossible for pros to do under the current hero system," Ojiro explained in a serious tone.

Toshinori eyes leered as he stated, "Sounds like the ends justify the means kind of situation."

"Only if all other methods have been exhausted. Remember, I have the top law enforcement of our country breathing down my neck constantly. I don't make it a habit to stretch the limits of the law unless I have to," the detective tried to explain.

All Might nodded, before saying, "Excuse my attitude earlier. I've had to deal with some troublesome law enforcement during my career. They would go to almost any means to capture villains. I was just cautious if had gone down the same path Ojiro-san."

"The day I do, please do stop me, I welcome it," Ojiro stated with a hearty grin. "Even if my son doesn't know the full extent of what I do here I feel I would betray him and my wife's trust if I ever became as you described."

The detective then reached over to grab for another drink of water.

After the man finished, Izuku asked, "So do any pro heroes assist you with this task force?"

"No. Not really. Besides providing eyewitness accounts of their activities or the rare assistance in arrests, I keep to myself."

Midoriya then asked, "Why is it uncommon for you to need a pro hero to subdue a vigilante?"

Yagi then explained, "There's no need to make a scene. I'm guessing once Ojiro-san figures out their true identities, he targets them during their normal daily life."

"You are quite right. Rarely does it become violent as most do not want to endanger their family or home. If they exhibit such tendencies during my intelligence gathering then I with contact appropriate heroes that can handle them," Ojiro stated, leaned back into his seat. He then said, "Even after all these years the process isn't perfect, but I've worked out most of the kinks. The idea is that the task force I am running will eventually be used in all prefectures in Japan. While I do have agents that work outside the Tokyo Metropolis, besides providing me Intel, I cannot have them do anything else."

"That is quite an ambitious goal," All Might said with intrigue.

"Yep, and hopefully it doesn't take another decade for it to come to fruition. My superiors still want more results before we move forward with that plan. I only have a handful of vigilantes that one would consider 'righteous' in their work with so progress is slow," the detective stated before rubbing the temple of his head in irritation.

Izuku gulped. There had been a question that had plagued him since he learned that Mashiro's father had extensive knowledge of vigilantes. Midoriya couldn't hold it any longer and asked, "Is there a reason you couldn't stop Stain and The Gentle Criminal before they became as they were?"

Ojiro looked quite perplexed at this question.

All Might was quick to stand up and try to say, "Midoriya-san that's not something we should-."

"It's alright All Might, I think I understand," the detective said as he put a hand to calm the former pro hero down. He then put it back on his desk as he said, "Considering the reports I've read on those two I think I've connected the dots."

"The media reported that there was evidence that Stain had been a vigilante for some years before becoming a villain. So that means there's a possibility you knew about him," Midoriya stated in a serious voice.

Ojiro nodded and said, "You are right. He was, but the information I had on him did not allow me to connect the two. Besides, he went dark for some time before reappearing. I thought perhaps he had been dealt with."

Yagi then said, "This is news even to me. How so?"

"To start, he called himself Stendhal back then. His appearance was different too as he had a long ponytail, a mask that covered his entire face, and sleeker tactical gear than he did as Stain. His M.O. was initially catching villains that avoided the grasp of heroes, and usually, they required to go to a hospital before jail when he was done with them. Stendhal then started to work with a trio of vigilantes before defecting from them and collaborating alongside a villain. From there he brutally murdered a drugged up villain and then several Yakuza before being beaten by that trio I mentioned earlier. Stendhal then went off the grid for some time and morphed himself into the hero killer we know today."

All Might then asked, "I'm guessing Stain's past came up during his interrogation?"

Ojiro nodded before looking back to Midoriya to say, "In Gentle's case, it was thanks to the hacking skills of partner La Brava that I was unable to trace him. While he worked solo, I was slowly starting to close in on his identity, but the trail went cold once she joined his cause. Misinformation was the biggest issue I had to deal with. Too many leads to follow, with no idea if any was genuine. She put me through the wringer."

"I see. Thank you and sorry for bringing it up," Midoriya stated with a slight bow.

"No, it's fine. I'm sure you just wanted some closure since you helped in their arrest," the detective said with a smirk.

So he did figure it out, Izuku thought.

"He sure has a knack for getting into trouble," Toshinori said with a chuckle while ruffling his student's hair.

Ojiro looked at his watch before standing up. He then said with a chuckle, "I'm sure he can be a handful at times. His troublesome nature gives me half a mind to create a file for him too." But anyways, I have an early dinner to catch with Tsukauchi-san and his sister. So unless you two have any more questions, I'll be going."

All Might then looked at his pupil, who shook his head. Midoriya felt satisfied with everything he had heard. The former pro hero then reached out a hand as he said, "Thanks so much for greeting us again despite your busy schedule and the various hoops you had to jump through to allow us to hear this information."

The detective shook hands as he said, "Pleasure is all mine. Besides, it's hard to turn down a request from the former top hero of Japan and a friend of my son."

"Be sure to say hi to Makoto-chan for me. I haven't seen her since she was in college," Yagi stated.

Ojiro promised and then shook Midoriya's hand. He reminded the boy to keep everything under wraps, even with his son. They then all exited the office, and the detective went on ahead first so as not to draw too much attention to himself.

All Might then asked, "Would you like a ride back to U.A. my boy? We both do live there."

"Sure!"

Toshinori then gave a call to alert his guards that the meeting was over. He asked them to bring the car to the front of the building.

Once the two were inside the car, Izuku asked, "Was there anything you discussed with Ojiro-san before I arrived."

"Well, to start, I had no idea he was the father of one of my students. Aizawa-san was the one to visit the Ojiro family during the summer, so it all came as a surprise to me. Especially since his tail was hidden while behind his desk. Tsukauchi-san had mentioned his mentor a few times over the years and that he was an expert on vigilantes, but never more than that. Anyways, we mostly talked about his son. Ojiro-san seemed particularly intrigued at our TAC meetings. I guess his son has yet to tell his parents about the activity."

This did seem particular to Midoriya, but he then remembered that he only kept in touch with his mom because of the weekly video chats. Not everyone in the class was probably keeping their family as up to date as he and Hagakure were. It did make Izuku wonder if Mashirao had also kept his relationship with Momo from his folks as well. He doubted Toshinori brought it up.

Yagi then said, "This meeting, though. Turned out to be a lot more than I bargained. Though I'm sure you need some time to process it all before coming up with a decision?"

The boy nodded. While it was quite informative, it was still too soon to come up with an answer. He needed a night to think about it.

"Alright, enough about that then. It's time I got an update about you and Hagakure-chan," All Might said.

Chan? The conversation the two had during the cultural festival must have been quite something, Midoriya pondered. He waved the thought away and decided it was best to key his mentor in on the dance lessons he was having with Ashido to start.

* * *

Izuku sat in the bleachers of Gamma Gym waiting for his classmates and teachers for their TAC meeting. He decided to stay behind at the dorm and have a quick dinner to collect his thoughts before training. Midoriya was hoping he could talk to All Might tonight as he had come up with an answer about how he wanted to deal with the vigilantes once he went pro. He spent all night yesterday and class time he could spare today thinking about it.

The boy then recalled his conversation with his idol yesterday as they drove home. After updating Yagi about Hagakure, Midoriya explained Ojiro's condition, which took up most of the time back. All Might was familiar with the ailment. However, he was still intrigued to hear about what the family had been going through.

Just then, Aizawa and Yagi entered the gym.

"Evening Midoriya-san," All Might said as his student approached them.

Izuku greeted both, tho Shota seemed distracted and didn't respond beyond a grunt. The homeroom teacher then made his away from the others and sat down on the bleachers to look over notes he had written for today's session.

"Don't mind him. We have something big happening this weekend, and it's been a bit hectic among the staff housing," Toshinori said and then sighed.

Midoriya then asked, "What is it?"

"In due time, my boy. Though I'm sure you and some of your other classmates will appreciate what we have in store," Yagi said with a grin.

Izuku didn't have much time to think before the gym doors opening again, this time with his friends entering the gym.

Everyone said their greetings to those already present before Eraserhead started the meeting by saying, "Today things will be a bit different. Hagakure you'll be sparring with me to start. Ojiro-san will be against Yayorozu-san's weapons. Midoriya-san will be under All Might for quirk refinement. Ida-san and Uraraka-san however, will continue working on Super Moves."

Everyone split up into their groups, and All Might approached his pupil to say, "We'll be outside again today."

"Same training?"

"Some alterations, but essentially yes."

The two started to make their exit, and as they did, Izuku stated, "I came up with an answer."

Toshinori stopped as he said, "That was fast. Was it that easy after hearing what Ojiro-san had to say?"

Midoriya shook his head before saying, "I spent a good amount of time thinking about it is all. I was still brainstorming in class today when I made up my mind."

"I see. Well, what is it?"

"I like the idea of working with them. I think if there are more that have a mindset similar to The Gentle Criminal, then they can be useful."

Not convinced to the answer, Yagi asked in a questioning tone, "And how would you do that?"

"Ojiro-san said that he didn't have any pro heroes that worked directly with him in the Vigilante Task Force. I feel I could do that." Izuku replied with confidence.

"You are assuming quite a lot my boy," Toshinori said as he started walking again.

Midoriya followed the man as he asked, "What's the issue you have with it?"

All Might held the door open that exited the gym as he said, "I'm not against you working with them. It's more your assuming you are going to work in the Tokyo Metropolis when you go pro."

Izuku walked through the door as he said, "It's where I live. What's wrong, wanting to work in this prefecture?"

"I will admit if you do well here, you do get popular quickly. However, competition is very high since most pro hero here is trying to get a cut of that pie. You wanting to start a group hero team here would be very risky. Even I avoided working here," Toshinori explained as he closed the door.

"Right your agency was based in Chiba," Midoriya stated. He recalled Ashido and Kirishima were from there as well.

Yagi nodded as he said, "While still well populated, it's still nowhere near the size of Tokyo. Plus it had a recent rise in crime back then, which I felt I could help with."

"Well, Ojiro-san said he was hoping that the task force would spread to the rest of Japan. So it might not matter where I end of establishing myself."

"It's been over ten years, and he's still restricted to here. Another two or three years might not be enough if ever," Yagi argued. He then sighed before saying, "I will admit that my thoughts on this are based on current events. In a few years, the situation might change which could be more favorable to the idea. But another situation that is holding me back is that it's not like we can prepare for this. I can't have you working under Ojiro-san if the task force is supposed to be classified and if he's never had a hero work under him, especially if they are still in their first year."

All Might's logic made a lot of sense, Izuku thought. Perhaps he was too eager on the idea, but that wasn't going to stop him. The boy then asked, "Maybe I could meet some of the vigilantes that Ojiro-san has working for him? See the kind of people I would have to deal with?"

Toshinori scratched his chin as he answered, "Perhaps. That is something we might be able to do, but for now, let's focus on TAC training. We can revisit this in the next term. I want to get further along with this TAC group before trying to juggle doing something such as that. We still haven't even started doing things all together yet."

"Okay, I understand."

"Good, because we're here," Yagi said as he came to a stop. It was the same field from last week. He then said, "Things are a bit different this time. Not only did I change the position and angle of the ball launchers, but I also added some wiffle and baseballs to the mix. Last time, I bet once you had seen it a few times, you could easily guess the arc of the tennis balls. But now you have various balls, including a waffle ball that would easily break at the force you normally give the tennis balls. Try not to break the wiffle balls, but I want you to try and destroy the baseballs."

"Oh man," Izuku groaned.

* * *

Mina asked, "You pinched Hagakure-chan's butt!?"

Izuku was quick to respond, "Not hard!"

"But you still did it!"

"She was okay with it though," Midoriya said as he held up his hands defensively.

"Dude, I'm not mad at you. It's a fact you did it and asked in the first place," Ashido said as she ran her hands through her hair back and forth. She then took her hands out and said, "I guess I thought you would never be capable of such a thing."

Izuku groaned as he said, "I still question myself why I asked her all the time."

Mina leaned in closer as she whispered, "Well, has it happened since?"

Midoriya violently shook his head as his face turned a deeper shade of crimson.

"Still though, that's wild."

It was dancing lesson time once more. Like last time, Ashido asked for payment upfront. This time he had to explain everything up to the present. Practice French kissing and butt pinching included. Mina had kept her promise thus far, and Tooru was none the wiser about anything so while it was embarrassing as all hell, he was obliged to tell his classmate if he wanted more lessons. However, with his story, all caught up, what now?

"Ashido-chan, is this our final lesson?"

"Um, why would you say that?"

"Well, I've told you everything about Tooru and me. I'm out stuff to 'pay' you with," Izuku replied with a shrug.

Mina laughed before saying, "I've got plenty of other wants that I'm sure you can fulfill."

"Like what?"

"You'll find out next week," Ashido stated before sticking out her tongue.

Midoriya sighed but instead of complaining wanted to ask something that had been on his mind since last week. He then cleared his throat before asking, "Ashido-chan, why do you want to know about what's happening between Tooru and me? At first, I thought you only wanted to know because you had an interest in how we got together. Now I'm not so sure."

Mina put a hand to her chin for a few moments before explaining, "Romance has always interested me. Seeing how people interact, play off each other, the drama that comes with it, the works. I see it on TV and the books I read all the time. It's nice to fantasize about, but I've never had any myself. It then turns out my hunches about my classmates is true, and romance is blooming right in front of me. Call it nosey and selfish if you want, but I wanted to see how romance happens in real life even if it is just from one perspective. Uraraka-san was too embarrassed to ever say anything. Asking Ida-kun would be like asking stale bread for details. I think Hagakure-chan would think I'm too nosey. I figured you would be like Uraraka-chan, but then you approached me asking for a favor, so I thought I hit the jackpot."

Izuku was taken back a bit by the explanation. He figured if any of the girls in his class had a romantic relationship before, it would be Mina. How wrong he was. Still, he couldn't fault her in being interested in the subject. While it did interest himself, Midoriya always put school and his dream of being a hero first. It just happened he fell in love with his friend along the way.

Mina then got up and said, "Well enough, chit chat. We should get to today's lesson."

Izuku stood up as well and asked, "What's the focus?"

"I want us to try some slow dancing lessons before moving on to _Finales_ next week. Then we'll do some reruns of everything up to _Differencias_ to see if you retained the movement."

"Why the sudden slow dancing?"

Ashido took out her phone and started typing away as she said, "Remember that Finales is pretty suggestive, and while you've been doing well with the other phases, I can tell you are still hesitant about it all. Slow dancing while in no way that technical should get you used to being so close to a girl. If we try and tackle the embarrassment and skill at the same time, I think we'll be here forever."

"I think it's more that you are not my girlfriend that is what is making me so uneasy is all Ashido-chan," Midoriya said while scratching the back of his head.

"Well if you can be comfortable with me, then it will be a cakewalk with Hagakure-chan," Mina stated before setting her phone down. She then put out a hand as she said, "Now approach."

Izuku did as told and took her hand.

"Now, since it's me we are doing this with, place your free hand on my waist. If it's Hagakure-chan, you can place it on her hips or butt if you are so inclined."

Midoriya sighed before saying, "Not h-helping."

"It's true though, even if you hate to admit it. She might even like it," Ashido said in a teasing tone. Once the boy did as instructed, Mina said, placed her free hand on his shoulder and then said, "Play."

The girl's phone started to play some classical music. It had a plodding beat, slower than even _Bolero_. It was a duet between a violin and a piano.

Ashido then started to move and say, "Sway your body with the beat. No need for complex foot movement. You can even stay in the same small spot if you so wish."

At first, Mina was pulling Izuku around to let him have a jist of things. She then let loose and had him take the lead. Eventually, they moved together, with equal control.

"Not bad. Though you should look at your partner while dancing," Ashido stated with slight annoyance.

"It's hard, this almost like a hug," Midoriya said nervously.

Mina shook her head as she said, "Nah, that's more like this." She then pulled Izuku's hand to her waist and placed her now free hand on his remaining shoulder. Ashido then proceeded to pull him into a real hug while swaying with the music.

"See?"

It took Izuku a few seconds to respond with, "W-Why?"

Ashido pulled back but kept up with the dance as she said, "To prove a point mostly. Though it is also a position you can take if you wanna cuddle with Tooru during this. Also, not all dancing is intimate unless you make it so, Midoriya-kun."

Midoriya exhaled loudly before saying, "I get it. I'll try, and not let my nerves get to me."

"Good cause I want us to try a few songs before moving on back to _Balreo_ ," Mina said as she went to go and play a new tune on her phone.

"Yes, ma'am," Izuku said as he tried to shake away the uneasiness he was feeling. He thought, time to give this another go!

* * *

"Sorry to disturb at this hour, but today's events got in the way of what I wanted to talk about," Ida said while in front of Midoriya's room.

"It's been an eventful Sunday alright, but come on in," Izuku said while waving in his guest.

The host closed the door and didn't even have time to ask what his friend wanted before Tenya said, "This concerns Ochako's birthday next month. I need assistance in coming up with an activity to do."

Midoriya was confused at this statement. Earlier in the week, Uraraka had stated she was excited for her upcoming birthday, and her boyfriend had teased he had something great planned for her. It wasn't like the class president to lie. Izuku then said, "So was what you said Wednesday at lunch, false?"

Tenya violently shook his head before he answered, "I did have a plan! I wanted to take her to an observatory in Mitaka, but the stargazing event that was supposed to happen on her birthday was canceled earlier today. Something about renovations they plan to do during the holidays."

Izuku then asked, "Isn't it still open to the public regardless of the event being there or not?" He recalled reading about the observatory some years ago. But other than it being public and located in the western part of the prefecture, he couldn't remember anything else about it.

"You are correct, but I wanted her to see the stars, not just the museum. She's been to plenty of those with her parents when she was younger,"

So Ida wanted it to be special, Midoriya thought. He then said, "Her birthday is the 27th right? Are you planning to do anything on Christmas?"

"No. Considering her parents live in Mie, it's too far for us to do anything in a single day considering that's an eight hour round trip. We thought it would be best to spend time with our families and instead focus our time together during the holidays on her birthday."

There goes that idea, Izuku pondered. He wanted to help his friend. Tenya was there when he needed advice about Tooru asking him out. However, thinking back then gave Midoriya a possible solution. He then said, "Hey, why don't we do a triple date."

"You mean, like with all our friends?"

"Yeah. Your double date plan worked great back in the first term. Plus I think Uraraka-chan would love to spend time with everyone if given a chance."

Ida looked intrigued but still hesitant as he said, "As much as that sounds doable, it would require a lot of planning."

"I'm sure if we work together, we can come up with something instead of having you shoulder it all alone."

"Perhaps. I guess we'll find out when I pitch the idea to the others at lunch tomorrow," Tenya stated while placing a hand on his chin. He then said, "Anyways, how do you feel about Eri-chan coming to live at U.A? Ochako was ecstatic about it."

That's right, the big surprise All Might hinted during the TAC training was Eri's moving into the teacher's living quarters. Because of her abandonment by her parents and her closest living relative is in a coma, she had nowhere to go. Eri's horn had started to grow again, which was linked to the source of her quirk's power. So because of that reason, instead of foster care, Eri was to be monitored by the U.A. faculty.

The big three and all the students that helped in the Overhaul raid were invited by Aizawa to see Eri and be told what was happening. During the day, she would spend time in a free room in the teacher's lounge to be monitored in her progress. Mirio even volunteered to come whenever he could to help since he was on hiatus as a student.

There, however, was a hitch to the good news.

Izuku then said, "I'm thrilled that Eri-chan is here now, but I worry about Aizawa-sensei."

"Then we are in agreement. I fear that whatever was stressing him out before will only be compounded by this new responsibility," Tenya said with concern in his voice.

Midoriya wondered if he could ask All Might about how it was affecting Aizawa at the next TAC meeting tomorrow. Would it be too soon, though?

"I might try and make an announcement before class tomorrow that we should be extra helpful to Aizawa-sensei for the rest of the term. Though I want to consult Yaoyorozu-chan first," Ida stated while pulling out his phone. He then said, "Though it seems she has retired for the night as she hasn't answered my text yet."

Izuku then said, "Well, I think it's a great idea, Ida-kun."

"Thanks, Midoriya-kun, I knew you and I would be on the same page on this issue. Anyways, I should head downstairs once more before I go to bed. I need to make sure Ochako isn't stuffing her face full of cat paw buns."

Midoriya chuckled a bit at the thought of Uraraka doing such a thing. The two said their goodbyes and Ida left in a hurry.

The cat paw buns were a gift to the dorm earlier today. The first years wanted to spend more time with Eri today, but Eraserhead dismissed them as they had visitors back at home. To their surprise, the Wild, Wild Pussycats with Kota visited both the 1A and 1B dorms. They came to celebrate Ragdoll's reinstatement, though as Tiger and Mandalay said in their last visit, she was working in their office. The girls were especially excited because of the treats they brought. Izuku though was happy to see Kota again, and Mandalay even pointed out his new red shoes, which were very similar to his own. The young boy was quite embarrassed about it, which Midoriya thought was adorable.

Either way, Ragdoll's reinstatement was because of the upcoming Billboard Hero Chart coming up on Friday. Despite their drop in the rankings, their approval ranting hadn't dropped, so they knew their fans were waiting for their return. They already knew their numbers; they just hadn't been posted to the public yet. Everyone seemed interested in how the hero placement would be now that All Might had retired.

Midoriya was somewhat interested in the rankings but was more concerned about Todoroki. He seemed off once he heard about the Billboard Hero Chart. It made sense that Endeavour would be ranked first, considering how many years he had held rank two. Izuku hoped he would watch it with everyone else when it aired, perhaps that way he could be supportive if need be.

Speaking of being supportive, Midoriya wondered about Koda's time with Jiro and Kaminari. As he lay in his bed, he recalled not noticing any difference between the three during the week. Izuku didn't want to annoy Koji about it, but all things considered, it must have gone well if they all were acting normal. Or least he hoped they did.

The thoughts of romance spurred Midoriya to pull out his phone. He figured, his girlfriend should know about the triple date before lunch tomorrow. Izuku wasn't kidding himself though; he mainly wanted to see Tooru's reaction as an excellent way to end his day.

* * *

 **Hope you all have been enjoying your summer!**

 **Mine's been a bit hectic, but I'm managing. Luckily I have a week off next week to chill (going to Wisconsin!).**

 **So my commission to celebrate all my recent milestones and anniversary is done. Though, don't expect it to release until July 23rd to celebrate this fic turning two years old. The new cover art is nearly done (currently on flat colors) and will be posted then as well.**

 **My birthday was back on the 9th last month, so now I'm 30 years old (I am an old man yeeeeah). I received some KodaJiro art as a gift from VagitisArts on Twitter/Tumblr. Her birthday was on the 11th, so I commissioned some EraserMic art made by jayceart on Twitter/Tumblr. Finally, EriJaime opened her commissions again, so I had to jump at the chance. I initially planned to do some IzuTooru once she opened up once more. However, since I have two art of the ship coming later this month, I requested some KodaJiro art instead. That should be out in the next couple of days so keep your eyes peeled on Twitter/Tumblr for it.**

 **I wonder, is this the first chapter I've done without Tooru? I mean, I've had some chapters that are very light on her content, but I'm too lazy to check. ;p**

 **I had the most fun writing the first scene, as it required a fair amount of planning and research to pull off. The building it was set in is a real place in both universes. So I thought to research it's real-life counterpart as well as how law enforcement works in Japan. Figuring out where to place Mr. Ojiro's rank took me the longest. A Commissioner General (head of all of Japan's law enforcement) has made a brief appearance in canon but based on his personality I didn't think he would be the one to set up the Vigilante Task Force. So I decided to invent someone that is one rank below him, though whether I'll use them beyond mentions is still up in the air. If you must know, Kenji Tsuragamae's (dog man from the end of the Stain arc) rank is probably an Assistant Commissioner since he was the Chief of Police of the Hosu Ward. That would place him two positions above Mr. Ojiro but two positions below the Superintendent General. I figure that Tsukauchi's rank is probably at least an Inspector, which is just below Ojiro. It's hard to figure out what rank a detective would be (especially since Ojiro and Tsukauchi are special cases). And as a final bit, Mrs. Ojiro is Sergeant rank, which places her two positions below her husband.**

 **I felt it wouldn't take Izuku long to come up with his answer to All Might if given an evening to collect his thoughts after learning what he did from Mr. Ojiro. I promise the next TAC meeting scene will focus more on the others. Still, it's always fun to think of new ways for Midoriya to work on his new techniques that were never explored in the manga.**

 **The Mina scene was quite short this time around. I only wanted to explain her reasoning behind the 'payments' and to show they were beginning the slow dance lessons. The next lesson is much meatier in content.**

 **This last scene I thought would be longer initially, but I cut out stuff. Again I wanted Ochako and Tenya to get some focus for a bit, so the Mashirao and Momo stuff I had planned I decided to move entirely into the 3rd term. Also, finding a way to explain how Koda's time with Jiro went just didn't fit well, so I decided to put that off until chapter 32. But yeah, a triple date is on its way! The date is going to be a significant event for the story, so stay tuned!**

 **Night Foliage completed editing chapter 20, making 89 edits.**

 **Chapter 32 will have a summary of the Pro Hero arc (in the latter half of the chapter) but continue with the TAC and Mina's dance training. Chapter 33 will then mainly focus on the aftermath of the Joint Training arc. But here's the issue. Both of these are written (needs editing), and I tried to get into 34 but I couldn't. With the Villain arc still in play, I can't advance further without going into unknown territory. I have plenty of non-canon stuff I want to do; for example, I have two significant events planned for the end of December. However, without the direction and timeline of canon, I cannot go forward. Hopefully, it concludes by September so I can continue writing (it does seem to be approaching its climax tho). I just wanted to give you all a heads up that a hiatus might be happening later this year since I am vastly approaching the manga.**

 **Chapter 32 will be published on July 23rd to celebrate two years of Cubicity!**


	32. Winter Approaches

Chapter 32: Winter Approaches

Izuku shook his head before asking, "You're calling it the what?"

"The Gravipult," Ochako replied proudly.

Tenya adjusted his specs as he said, "Is that so? You had no problem with me calling it the Recipro Slingshot last session."

Uraraka sighed before saying, "The name is a work in progress. Anyways, hopefully with the adjustments Hatsume-san made to the springs in my boots over the weekend, we can start working on the next phase of the super move."

Ida chuckled as he said, "Ah yes, the fake-out."

Midoriya thought it weird to hear his class president laugh as so. It reminded him of the start of the first term. His friend had gotten a bit too into his role as a villain that day.

The three were waiting in Gamma Gym for the rest of their friends for another TAC meeting. The couple had been discussing their first duo super move with Izuku, as he always trained outside and didn't get to see it in practice. The two wanted to work on it more before telling their friend, but Ochako finally caved.

It involved Ida carrying Uraraka while sprinting. He would then spin and shift to a higher gear and launch her forward towards the target. Ochako would have already made herself weightless so that distance wouldn't be a factor. Once on the goal, she could render them useless once she had her hands on them.

However, before Izuku could hear what the fake-out was, the teachers entered the gym. But not alone; Eri was to Eraserhead's side, holding his hand.

Midoriya and Uraraka were quick to descend the bleachers and meet the young girl.

Ochako said, "Good evening, Eri-chan! Did you come to see us train?"

The horned girl gave a blank stare as she asked, "Train?"

All Might then said, "She's grown quite attached to Aizawa-san. Threw a fit that he was leaving for a few hours."

The mental image of Eri pouting seemed alien to Izuku, but then again he hadn't known or spent too much time with her either. Perhaps now that she was feeling better, she was acting more like her age?

"He never told me he had to leave on Monday nights, until minutes before leaving. It's not fair," the child said with puffed cheeks.

Eraserhead groaned before saying, "Yes, yes my mistake, but this is the only time you get to come. I'll be sure to have a printed schedule of all my activities, so this doesn't happen again."

Yagi whispered into Aizawa's ear as he said, "Does she even know how to read?"

A yell then echoed through the gym, "Eri-chan!"

It was Tooru. She sprinted towards the group, with Momo and Mashirao lagging behind since they were walking. She then lifted the young girl and said, "It's so nice to meet you finally."

"Your from Midoriya-chan's class," Eri stated. Izuku figured she recognized his girlfriend from when she was touring U.A. back in October.

Hagakure then said, "I am. I'm also his girlfriend."

The horned girl cocked her head to the side slightly as she said, "What's a girlfriend?"

"Oh gosh, you really were cut off from the rest of the world," Tooru said in a sad tone.

"Or she's six," the homeroom teacher said with a palm over his face.

"So? I knew what that meant back then."

Eraserhead just remained silent and lowered his hand.

Hagakure then asked, "Can I watch over her tonight, Aizawa-sensei?"

Aizawa looked like he was about to reject her plea, but paused a moment before saying, "Actually, that's an excellent idea Hagakure-san. Go ahead and keep her company while the others focus on their training."

The pro hero quickly pulled up his clipboard and wrote for a few seconds before saying, "Change in plans, we'll do a repeat of last week. However, I want to see the progress of that super move before I oversee how the sparring is going."

As everyone began to split into their groups, All Might approached his pupil by the side and said, "Hagakure-chan sure jumped on that opportunity."

"Her mom works at a daycare, and she helps out from time to time," Izuku stated as the two began to exit the gym. He remembered that it was Eraserhead that visited Tooru's home during the summer. Toshinori wouldn't have learned of this fact because of it.

"Then Eri-san is in good hands then."

Midoriya stayed quiet until they were outside, when he said, "I feel Tooru wanted to spend time with Eri-chan more so because she wanted to get to know her. A lot of people put their lives on the line to bring her to safety."

"Yes, and one gave it up in the process," Yagi stated without skipping a beat.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to-," Izuku tried to say.

"Don't be sorry. It's part of the job. Nighteye knew the risk, especially because of his quirk. I've had many close calls in my life. As have you, even as a student in his first year," Toshinori said before stopping. He then sighed before saying, "We should focus on today's lesson."

"More balls then?"

All Might shook his head as he began walking again and said, "Not today. I want to test your limit of Full Cowl."

"You mean, go beyond 20%?

"Yes. You have fine control of Full Cowl in the teens with your new gauntlets so pushing beyond 20% should be possible."

"Then why are we outside if we aren't using the ball launchers?"

Yagi put a hand on his student's shoulder as he said, "I know pushing the limit of One for All can be quite painful. I didn't want your friends or Eri-san see you suffer if things go wrong."

Midoriya nodded but didn't say anything. There was no telling what might happen, even if he tried to play it safe.

"This should be far enough," Toshinori said as he came to a stop at an open patch of grass and took his hand off Izuku. "Now let's see 20%."

"Right," Midoriya stated before taking a stance and activating his quirk. At this point, 20% was just a mild annoyance. No longer did his bones rattle and the pain be unbearable. Still, there was room for improvement.

"Now let's see beyond that," All Might said cautiously.

The result, however, was immediate. Full Cowl dissipated.

"How high was that?"

Izuku stared at his hands and said, "I don't know. I barely raised the bar, only like a single percentage or two."

"Try slower then."

But again, it faded. It lasted only a moment longer.

"Well?"

Midoriya felt clueless. He took a moment to think before saying, "It keeps breaking apart too fast for me to understand what's going on."

Yagi put a hand to his chin as he said, "Perhaps a warm-up is in order. Use 8% while doing some stretches and then run around while gradually increasing One for All. See if we can ease into it with activity."

Izuku nodded and did as instructed, only to be face-first into the grass just minutes later.

All Might came over and assisted his student in getting up before asking, "The same result?"

Midoriya shrugged as he answered, "I got further, but I still don't think I even got to 25%. And again, only last like a second."

"So we've hit a wall, and so early," Yagi said with a grunt.

"What do you mean?"

"As you know, One for All grows stronger with each transfer. It would come to reason that eventually it would become unwieldy after enough generations. I figured if we ran into such a problem, it would be at a much higher percentage. Yet we're running into issues while scratching the surface of a quarter of its full strength. It doesn't add up. This problem is compounded when we consider the fact of how slow you have been in adapting the quirk compared to myself and previous users."

Izuku hung his head low upon hearing the explanation. He remembered that his mentor had mentioned he had mastered it almost instantly. He thought, why am I so different than my predecessors? Is there something wrong with me?

Toshinori noticed his student's mood and thought for a moment before saying, "Don't let it worry you, my boy. Your unique take on the quirk better suits you."

"How?"

"While I was going through school, I was above and beyond in performance compared to most of my classmates due to my early mastery of One for All. Even though I was holding back, I still wanted to be the best, so I didn't hold back too much. It didn't earn me too many friends though. It was hard to relate to anyone since I was so far ahead."

All Might then pointed to Midoriya as he continued by saying, "Because you are gradually grasping One for All, your classmates can relate to your struggle. They can be impressed by your feats as you grow. This better compliments your strive to be a part of a team of equals. If all you ever did was overshadow them in heroics, that would be a problem."

Izuku pondered upon his teacher's revelation. He thought about how the top students in 1A were at the start of the first term. Bakugo and Todoroki clearly stood at the top but lacked much friendship or teamwork. It's only as their flaws were shown and as they took a step away from their pedestals did they start to gain comradery. Midoriya then felt terrible once more for his idol. He had already been told his pro hero career was lonesome, but so was his school years? It was again hard to fathom what the man had been through over the decades.

"I see. Thank you, sir. I hadn't thought of it like that before."

"Well, no use in forcing this for now. Let's head back. I need to brainstorm with Aizawa-san what to do next. You should spend some time with Eri-san for this evening, I am sure Hagakure-san will appreciate it," Yagi said before beginning to walk back to the gym.

The two remained silent until they entered the building. Eraserhead wasn't far from the entrance. He was observing Momo and Mashirao spar. The latter seemed to be losing, as Izuku saw his friend get bonked on the head by his girlfriend's bo staff.

"You two are back early. It's only been like 15 minutes," Aizawa stated with a confused look on his face as he turned around.

"I'll explain in a moment," All Might said while waving his pupil away.

Izuku separated himself from the group. He made his way towards Tenya, who had just tossed his girlfriend using the super move they described earlier. However, Ochako missed the target, a large weight ball, about a meter to the right. What surprised Midoriya was seeing Uraraka stick the landing on her heels. She then sprung forward back at the target once more. She overshot the ball though and was about to land face first.

Izuku then activated One for All and started to sprint over to try and catch her. He stopped in his tracks as a white blur zoomed by him and caught Ochako before he could even make half the distance.

"Sorry, Sorry, I'm still getting used to this," Ida said in a panic.

"Well, you can fix your mistakes just as well. It's okay," Uraraka said before giving her boyfriend a quick peck on the lips.

Tenya coughed in embarrassment as he said, "Ochako, we have a witness."

Ochako quickly spun around and said, "Oh hey D-Deku-kun! Back so soon?"

"All Might-sensei wanted some input from Aizawa-sensei about my training is all." Izuku then pointed over at the weight ball as he said, "Was that the fake-out you mentioned earlier?"

Uraraka nodded before explaining, "We thought if we have the target's attention, then we risk not only the super move failing, but me getting thrown into danger. So we thought up the fake-out to counter that."

Midoriya then asked, "Ida-kun, that was some speed back there. Is that the result of your latest training?"

"Indeed. A few days ago, I was able to test out my newest technique. Still, it's not ready to unveil just yet, as you just observed," the class president stated as he scratched the back of his head.

It was definitely faster than anything Izuku had ever seen from his friend. Also, the Engine quirk usually required Tenya to go through his various gear speeds before achieving his top speed. This required some time and distance to do. Yet Ida did it almost instantaneously. Considering all this, Midoriya was looking forward to seeing Engine's full potential.

"Alright let's try another go, to the left this time with not as much oomph," Ochako said she poked Tenya in the cheek.

"Less oomph. I'll try my best. Oh, good luck with your quirk refinement Midoriya-kun," Ida stated before walking back to their starting position.

Midoriya stepped out of their way and made his way over to Hagakure. She was currently sitting on the bleachers watching Eri trying to bounce a large ball. Once he got closer, he noticed it was a basketball. The small girl stopped what she was doing, however, once she noticed Izuku was approaching.

Eri then asked, "Back already?"

"It was a short lesson. I'm here to be with you for the rest of the evening. So are you learning how to dribble?"

The young girl nodded and said, "Yeah, but it's hard."

"Practice makes perfect," Tooru said as she handed Eri the basketball once more. "You have already improved in a few minutes, and once you get the hang of it, we can try moving and dribbling at the same time."

The small girl took the ball back with smiles and began her dribble attempts anew. She could do about three or four before messing up, but she was determined to improve.

Midoriya then felt Hagakure grab his hand, bring him to the bleachers. She then whispered, "So did something happen during training?"

"Yagi-sensei wanted me to try and go beyond 20% with Full Cowl, and it was a total dud."

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

Izuku shook his head as he said quietly back, "It dissipated too quickly for the pain to ever manifest."

Eri then proclaimed, "I got five dribbles!"

Hagakure turned and responded with, "See Eri-chan? Keep at it!"

Midoriya then asked, "Why basketball?"

"It keeps kids her age occupied pretty well, but I like to use it as a way to gauge a child. You can tell a lot about them just from something so simple. You should take a closer look."

Izuku then focused on Eri's practice. She remained focused while dribbling, but going from her face, got upset anytime she messed up. Still, she would go after the ball and try again with confidence. She then did a sixth dribble for the first time, but became so excited she forgot to keep going. Very cute.

Tooru then asked, "So what could you say about her?"

Midoriya thought for a few moments before saying, "Determined to be better. Hates when she loses but the reward of doing better is worth more than being mad about messing up."

"That's an excellent analysis. Lots of kids would already have given up either from not improving or being mad at themselves. Mean she has a good head on her shoulder, which is so much better than having to deal with a spoiled brat. They might need a bit more attention, so they remain entertained, but they tend not to be rude or a handful."

"Did you learn this all from helping your mom at work?"

"Sorta. My mom prefers different methods when evaluating children, though. Her favorite way is to introduce a new kid to one that is regular at the daycare. She then presents a single toy and sees how they react. I don't like that method cause obviously most kids are going to fight over it before long, and usually, the activity doesn't last long. I do like that she tries to scope out each individual kid she can. It sucks to see some of her coworkers try and apply the same tactic to them all; it doesn't work. I might disagree with my mom on a lot of things in the last couple of years, but she sure knows how to take care of and watch over young kids, of all shapes and sizes."

Izuku wanted so much to ask more about Tooru's troubles as she started to change herself. Tibits like this made him so curious and concerned at what caused the rift between child and parent. Perhaps, during December's date, the question could be brought up, he thought. After Midoriya told Hagakure about the triple date to celebrate Uraraka's birthday, an idea came to him. Could Christmas be the opportunity not only to show off his dancing lessons but to cut his girlfriend's hair for the first time? Around then, her hair would require a trim. Izuku wanted a romantic holiday with Tooru, and while the triple date would be fun, he knew that it was Ochako's special day first and foremost.

"Hey Tooru, are you busy on Christmas?"

Hagakure jerked back a bit before saying, "You want to come over? But isn't Ochako's birthday like right after that?"

"Yeah but I want something more private."

"Oh so like for Christmas Dinner? You should bring your mom too; I bet my mom would love-."

"No just the two of us! A full day if you have the chance," Izuku interrupted.

"My, are we needy," Tooru said with a giggle. "Well, my family tends to have the early morning for presents, and then some Christmas dinner is all. As much as I would want to spend a day with you, I can't avoid those two things. I mean I bet I can delay the dinner somewhat to accommodate us hanging out, but you should be with your mom too. I'm not the only important girl in your life." Hagakure then gave her boyfriend a soft punch to his shoulder.

Izuku gave an awkward laugh but then noticed Eri was given the couple an odd look.

Tooru then asked, "Did you reach a new record, Eri-chan?"

"Oh, um, yeah. Seven."

Tooru then whispered, "I think we'll have to postpone our talk for later. She's getting a little too curious about us." She then stood up and left the bleachers to say, "I think you're ready to dribble while moving. We should also try passing the ball around with Midoriya-kun."

Midoriya, satisfied that Hagakure was for the idea for a date on Christmas, got up to join the two girls.

* * *

Izuku asked, "So did you or Yaoyorozu-chan come up with anything for the triple date?"

Mashirao answered, "We figured a mall close by my place. It's scheduled to have a fair going on that week. So there should be plenty to do and eat."

"Like with rides and stuff?"

"Yeah, Ferris Wheel and the works. Another plus is that it looks to be cheap to get in."

That was a relief, Midoriya thought. He was hoping any money he was gifted during Christmas would help with his money situation. He wasn't sure yet how much he would need with his date with Hagakure. So Uraraka's birthday being on the cheap side of things was comforting to know.

"It was nice of Yaoyorozu-chan to volunteer planning her birthday," Izuku stated. Once Tenya announced the triple date at Monday's lunch, the vice class president quickly rose up to the challenge of organizing it.

"Yeah, it surprised me. I felt I might as well help Momo since she can overdo it sometimes," Mashirao said before laughing softly.

Izuku then looked around. Minus Ochako and Mina sharing some treats in the kitchen and Kaminari napping on a far away couch, the common room was quite empty that Wednesday evening. He then turned back towards his tailed friend and asked softly, "So have started having dates with Yaoyorozu-chan again? You haven't talked about it at all since the Cultural Festival."

"Nothing yet. Momo has been busy working with Sato-kun, Ida-kun, and Kendo-san for another activity between the 1A and 1B. They want to do something before the term ends in December," Ojiro answered. He then leaned forward and asked, "What I am more curious about though is you and not visiting Hatsume-san yesterday. You showing up before dinner at the dorms on Tuesday is odd."

"Oh that. Well when I got to the workshop, Tooru was already there. They were working on some new gear and wanted it to be a surprise for me," Midoriya stated with a shrug.

"Any idea of what they are cooking up?"

"No idea. I even asked her over the phone last night, and she said I would find out soon enough."

Mashirao thought for a moment before asking, "Do you think she did this because there would be no club meeting next week?"

"Perhaps."

At the end of Monday's training, Aizawa announced they would be taking a break for a week due to a special hero class that was supposed to happen next week. At lunch on Monday, everyone figured their homeroom teacher needed the extra time to prepare for whatever was happening.

"We are supposed to get our hero costumes with the winter modifications next week. Maybe we are doing a cold-weather exercise, and Hagakure-chan wanted to have something special made,"

Izuku shook his head as he said, "Nah, that's not it. Her suit is supposed to provide enough protection from the elements. She didn't submit for any modifications when we were asked, either. The same goes for me; my costume does fine enough."

Ojiro groaned before saying, "I guess we just wait then."

A soft voice then spoke up and said, "Evening."

Both boys turned to see Koda giving a weak wave.

Koji then asked, "I'm not interrupting anything important, am I?"

Mashirao replied, "Nah, just us, rambling. Did you want to talk?"

Koda took a seat opposite from the opposite boys before saying, "Yeah, I've meant to talk to Midoriya-chan for some time. Nerves are getting the better of me and all."

Ojiro looked between Midoriya and the newcomer a few times before asking, "About what?"

Koji took a few breaths before saying, "I accompanied Jiro-chan and Kaminari-kun to an open concert the Sunday before last."

Mashirao then stated, "Hey, that sounds fun. So what's the problem? Did it go, okay?"

Koda then looked to Midoriya for help, judging from his face.

Izuku then asked, "Is it okay if he knows?"

Koji nodded slowly.

"Uh, knows what?"

With a whisper, Midoriya said, "Koda has a crush on Jiro-chan."

Ojiro then gave a puzzled look before saying, "So, this outing a good thing then. I mean, he wasn't alone with her, but baby steps work best with you Koda-kun."

Izuku then turned to Koji and asked, "Did it go, alright?"

Koda was rubbing the back of his neck as he said, "I mean, nothing bad happened. The music was good, and they seemed to have a good time, mostly. I just keep wondering why I was there. I...felt like the third wheel."

Ojiro asked, "What makes you think that?"

"They did most of the talking. Kaminari-kun had to drag me around at times. Jiro-chan sounded a bit agitated at times, but I couldn't figure out why. It felt... off," Koji explained. "During it all, I thought everything was fine. But as the days go by I started to notice little things afterwards."

"So that's why you didn't tell me how it went right away," Izuku said.

"Uh-huh. It only got worse with each passing day."

Mashirao then asked, "Have you tried to talk to either of them about it?"

Koji violently shook his head.

Ojiro groaned before saying, "Well unless you do, this gonna keep eating away at you. But you want to know what I think? You're probably overthinking things. I can't see either of them being mad at you for whatever happened."

"I can't be sure of that Ojiro-chan," Koda said as he hung his head. "Besides, when I asked if we could go out again sometimes, Jiro-chan that it would need to wait a while."

Mashirao got up and said, "What she said doesn't particularly mean anything bad."

The commotion seemed to gain the attention of the girls in the kitchen.

Izuku then said quietly, "Look; I'll try and talk to either of them the next time I get a chance, okay?"

"Thanks," Koji said before standing. "Goodnight." He then quickly made his way back upstairs.

"Running again," Mashirao said with a sigh as he sat back down.

Midoriya met eyes with Ashido, who cocked her head to the side. He waved his hands slightly from the wrists before saying, "Is this something he did a lot in your last school?"

"Assume the worst of his interactions with people and book it when he disagreed with my opinion? Yeah, he did that a lot," Ojiro said while leaning back into the couch and looking upward. "It made trying to help him at times a pain with such a defeatist attitude. I don't blame him back then for behaving like that, considering all the bullying we had to endure, but it shouldn't be continuing on today."

Izuku related to such an outlook. Being quirkless led him to times where he thought anything good happening wasn't real or was only coincidental. What he couldn't relate to was how to handle a crush. Sure he had feelings of liking Tooru as they grew closer, but it didn't feel like a crush. Midoriya then considered the possibility of asking his girlfriend about it.

Ojiro then asked, "So who are you going to confront about this? Jiro-chan or Kaminari-kun?"

"Jiro-chan. Though it's best if she doesn't know how Koda-kun feels about her. That would only cause more problems." Izuku figured Denki wouldn't be the best one to ask what happened. Especially if his feelings about Kyoka were as accurate as Koji thought they were.

"Alright, that's enough sulking about this situation. Wanna have whatever the girls are snacking on to change the mood?"

"Sure!" Midoriya already guessed they were eating some mochi, as Ida had made some with Uraraka the other night. The thought of treats was definitely welcome.

* * *

"December is going to be action-packed for you Midoriya-kun," Mina stated while scruffing Izuku's hair.

Midoriya tried to fix his hair as he said, "Well only the end of the month."

"Still, a romantic outing for Christmas and then another double date two days later? The latter will be pretty nostalgic, I bet."

Izuku had to keep the triple date as a double to Mina's ears. As much as he enjoyed talking with the pink girl about his romantic life, he wasn't about to revel Mashirao and Momo dating.

Midoriya exhaled before saying, "Yeah, it will be over six months at that point." He then thought, so much had happened in half a year. And there was still so much to look forward to.

Ashido then leaned close as she said, "So about your final payment."

With a gulp, Izuku asked, "Y-Yeah?"

"You uh, don't have to accept this. This is more of a request than a demand."

"I'm all ears Ashido-chan." The anxiety was gone, and curiosity had taken over for Midoriya.

"Can we still have these little chats after the lessons?"

Izuku processed the question for a few seconds before asking, "Like about my love life?"

"Or romance in general. You're the only one that is comfortable talking about it. I used to talk with Hagakure-chan about it, but ever since you two became a couple it's been awkward. Kyoka-chan and Uraraka-chan always become a blushing mess. Yaoyorozu-chan, bless her heart, tries but is mostly clueless with her idealistic views of romance. I will admit Tsuyu-chan is a good listener to my rants but doesn't say much back. And none of the boys are even on my radar for such a discussion."

There was a lot to unpack here, Midoriya thought. Why was it awkward to talk with Tooru? He understood asking about explaining how their relationship happened didn't feel right for Mina, but why romance in general? Jiro seemed quite calm at most times he recalled, so it was odd to hear her being uncomfortable talking about love. The take on Momo was particularly weird. Idealistic? What did that mean? But whatever it meant, it didn't seem to hinder her dates with Mashirao. The final problem; if the other boys weren't even considered, then why him?

"You seemed to have no problem with me talking about romance. What makes you think any of the other guys wouldn't?"

Mina rubbed the back of her neck as she replied, "Well, to be honest, I didn't think you would be that great at discussing the subject. I thought all guys would only focus on actual events, but you detailed your feelings pretty well every step of the way. That's the most interesting part to me at least."

"Thanks?"

Ashido then put a hand on Midoriya's shoulder as she said, "No, I should be thanking you. This has turned out much more informative than I initially thought. But anyway, about my request."

Izuku put a hand to his chin while he considered Mina's request. He wasn't against this, but there was one hurdle that did come to mind. He then asked, "So you want us to continue chatting after the end of the lessons. So like in the third term?"

Mina took off her hand and nodded enthusiastically before saying, "At the very least, I want to hear about the Christmas date once school starts again."

"I see. Well, I want to tell Tooru that you taught me on Christmas and I feel I should bring up the payment. Depending on how she takes it, that will be my answer."

Ashido shrugged as she said, "I get it. It is all personal stuff." She then cleared her throat as she asked, "You don't think she will be mad, do you?"

"I don't know. She seemed pretty adamant in revealing our relationship early in the school summer trip before, well... it got out anyway. However, what I have told you is quite beyond just that. So who knows?" Midoriya explained. He had thought back to when Hagakure had specifically told him to not divulge too much information about their relationship to Aoyama and Ojiro back in October. He understood why with them, but what about Ashido?

"Well if things turn south I'll try and vouch for you. I don't want to cause trouble."

Midoriya exhaled loudly and said, "Thanks, though I hope it doesn't come to that. Although I do have to ask what other topics of romance could we discuss besides my relationship?"

"Oh, plenty. There's Yaoyorozu-chan's crush, Jiro-chan's boys, and whatever is going on with Sato-kun," Mina responded while crossing her arms.

Izuku nearly fell on his back upon hearing this. He then proclaimed, "Wait! Yaoyorozu-chan? Who do you think she has a crush on?"

Ashido shrugged as she answered, "I wish I knew. Her and Uraraka-chan gave the same reaction and answer to my questioning who they liked during the school summer trip. And we both know now that the latter had already been dating Ida-kun for some time. So I figure Yaoyorozu-chan has something to hide too."

Midoriya sighed internally. So she didn't know. Still, this was something he would need to monitor unless the couple outed themselves anytime soon. Izuku then figured Mina knew about Kyoka hanging out with Denki and Koji. However, her last revelation was confusing. He then asked, "And what do you mean about Sato-kun?"

"Well, I hear he went on a date with Kendo-san from 1B. And now he frequents going over to the 1B dorm to hang out with their class president and her friends. The weird part is I keep hearing about Kendo-san dating other people after the fact. It's all so confusing," Ashido stated before groaning.

"Then I guess we do have a lot to talk about come next term," Izuku said with an awkward chuckle. Her assumptions weren't too far off. Hopefully, he could set the record straight later.

Mina then stood up and said, "Yeah. Well, anyway, we've spent enough time discussing the last payment. Let's begin today's training! I want to start tackling _Finales_."

Midoriya got up as he said, "I hope I can keep up."

"Don't worry; we'll do some slow dancing as a warm-up," Ashido replied with a thumbs up.

After two songs of slow dancing, and half an hour of _Finales_ , Mina called for a break. As she parted with Izuku and turned off the music, she said, "See that wasn't so bad. If we continue at this pace, you should be 100% ready for Christmas!"

Midoriya sighed before saying, "Y-Yeah. No p-problem." His face was quite crimson at the moment. Slow dancing was one thing; this was another entirely. There was a lot of movement, and he kept staring into Ashido's eyes and imagining it as Hagakure just made it worse. It didn't help he had fallen on top of his instructor twice. Luckily he had avoided falling on any unmentionables.

"There was bound to be some mishaps with this. It's the hardest part," Ashido stated before taking a sip of water from a water bottle. "Still, we have to work on her face. Hagakure-chan is going to have a hard time trying to learn with your cherry face distracting her."

While fanning his face, Izuku said, "I know, I know. Hopefully, with more practice, I'll get over it."

"Well, you did a lot better slow dancing today, so maybe you're right."

"Thanks." Midoriya did feel more comfortable with their dancing. He filled his mind with other thoughts, and it kept the embarrassment at bay. However, this problematic part of _Balero_ was an entirely different beast since it took all his concentration to do it. Which meant clouding his mind with other subjects wasn't possible at the moment. The hope was that given time, the movements would become more natural, which could free up his concentration. They had three more lessons to perfect this before the holidays. That should be enough time to get over himself, right?

Mina then spoke up and asked, "Hey. I've been meaning to ask. What's been your excuse to Hagakure-chan for coming her each Thursday?"

"Studying at the library. She hasn't questioned it yet. Especially since by the time I get back, she's usually asleep."

"Oh, that makes more sense than what I thought," Ashido stated after an awkward chuckle.

"Which was?"

"Jogging or working out. You know to give a reason for wearing those clothes or the sweat you produce."

"I considered that, but Ida-kun regularly jogs around this time as of late. There might be some conflicting accounts if I said I was running too. Besides, I change into and out of these clothes in the bathroom just down the hall anyways. I wipe myself down to rid of the sweat but shower once I get home." Midoriya thought for a moment before asking, "What about you?"

"No one's asked yet, but my plan was to say I went to the gym to do aerobatics. I go straight home from here, anyway." Mina then put down her water bottle and said, "Alright. That's enough of a break. One last push before we call it a night!"

Midoriya offered a hand, and Ashido approached and took it. He then asked, "So same song?"

"I want to try something a bit modern this time. We don't want you to be a one-trick pony," Mina said with a grin as she started using her phone with her free hand.

* * *

Tooru asked, "Do you think Todoroki-kun is going to be alright?"

Izuku spoke back into his phone, saying, "I think so. He did say he was going to request to visit his family once his dad gets out of the hospital."

Midoriya heard a sigh before Hagakure said, "I mean, I feel conflicted knowing the backstory behind those two, so I can't imagine what he's going through right now."

It was Saturday night. The hero billboard chart happened the day before. However, the newly christened top two heroes in Japan, Endeavor and Hawks, had already met a dangerous foe in battle: A new type of Nomu down south in Kyushu. The media captured their struggle, and Izuku plus others in 1-A saw it live as it unfolded.

The super Nomu exceeded anything Midoriya had seen from any of these artificial humans. It's strength, speed, regeneration on top of quirks that allowed flight, arm transformation, and summoning multiple weaker Nomu. Most surprising was that it was able to talk as well. The combined effort of the top two pro heroes was able to topple the beast, but it severely injured Endeavor, particularly on the left side of his face.

However, it didn't end there. Though he wasn't able to see him, Izuku recognized the blue flames of Dabi from for League of Villains that surrounded the victorious heroes. The arrival of the #5 hero, Rabbit Hero: Mirko, scared the villain off thankfully.

Tooru asked, "I thought all the Nomu were rounded up when they raided that lab you came across back in June?"

Midoriya thought for a moment before responding with, "Either they can make them without All for One or that wasn't the only lab where they were created."

"Ugh, I was hoping that we had seen the last of them," Hagakure stated with a groan.

"It's never so easy."

"Yeah, I know, but this sure did this kill the hype from the hero billboard chart results."

The results from the rankings weren't a factor in Izuku's mind at the moment, but he understood where his girlfriend was coming from. Instead, another issue was in his mind. "Well, I want to talk to Yagi-sensei about this, but I feel it's not my place to be concerned right now."

"Unless there are more of those ultra Nomu and they start attacking our campus, there's not much we can do. Besides, did you see how much power that thing had? There's little students like us could do against it."

Midoriya figured where this was going and said, "Don't worry. It's not like I am going to run headfirst into a fight if I encounter one."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Hagakure said before sighing.

"Yeah, I know. I'm more careful nowadays, remember?"

"Thankfully."

The two then remained quiet for a few seconds. Izuku then hears some ruffling noises before hearing Tooru's voice say, "Let's talk about something else." She paused and exhaled before saying, "So about this Christmas date. What did you want to do exactly?"

"Oh uh, nothing is set in stone yet. I know for sure I want to do two things, though." Midoriya was surprised this was being brought up now, but still happy it was. All the talk of the triple date and then the recent events had drowned out them ever talking about this specific date.

"Which are?"

Izuku cleared his throat before saying, "Well one's a secret, but the other is I want to cut your hair. By then it should need a trim, no?"

"Well, I was going to have my mom cut it when I came home, but sure! It would probably be best if you did it at my place. Use the tools my uses, and to save time."

"Okay. I can do that." Midoriya sighed internally; he thought he would need to buy his equipment for this, so this was a much better alternative for him.

"This secret, however, is it a present?"

"Sorta."

"Hmmm, most curious. Then I guess I will need to come up with a secret myself considering what you are doing for me," Hagakure stated with confidence in her tone. She then asked, "Is there anywhere, in particular, you want to go?"

"Not really. All that matters I want to show you the secret in private. In or outdoors doesn't matter unless it's freezing," Midoriya replied. He liked the idea of ending the date dancing under the stars, but there was no guarantee it would be an option based on whatever weather would happen that day.

"Alright, give me a minute to think," Tooru said. Eventually, she spoke up again and asked, "How about this for a plan? You'll come over and cut my hair, and then we'll have some lunch at my place. From there, we head out and do some shopping. We should pitch in together to get a present for Uraraka-chan! Then I'll present my gift; then you do the same. Finally, we have a nice dinner and call it a day."

"Could my present come after dinner?"

"If that's what you want, then sure!"

Izuku sat up in his bed as he asked, "Did you already come up with a secret present for me?"

"I have something in mind, yeah. Need to check on a location or two before I'll commit to it, but I think we'll both enjoy what I have in mind."

"I look forward to it then!"

"Same goes to you. You're doing two things for me, anyway."

The two then switched their conversation to Uraraka's birthday. Midoriya explained what Yaoyorozu and Ojiro had planned, thinking up a present for the birthday girl, what rides they would want to do at the fair.

Despite what had happened earlier that day, everything was looking up for the end of his second term.

However, life is never that straightforward, as Midoriya would quickly see once more.

* * *

 **We have arrived. Two years of Cubicity!**

 **And it's over 300,000 words now! Even if we cut out my author notes!**

 **It's been a rough year for you readers, with all the delays and push backs I had halfway through the year. I hope the recent couple of chapters releases have restored faith that I can follow consistent publishing of new chapters (even if I am right on the heels of the manga now).**

 **And to celebrate, two pieces of art this year! The first you might have already noticed, in the new cover page art! This was made by blisssuniverse on twitter. The last cover page had a cold weather theme, so I thought to go summer this time! The second piece is a group shot of all the major student characters and also celebrates all the milestones this fic has recently achieved on FFnet. As always, check my Twitter/Tumblr for the art. I commissioned anush_arts to do this one. They are very skilled in getting many characters in one shot. After seeing their impressive work on my MHA x Persona 5 commission last fall, I just had to seek to work once more with them. The KodaJiro commission I promised ending up releasing two days after I posted the previous chapter, so check that out too!**

 **So the first scene, a change of pace from the previous Team Appreciation Club meetings. Izuku's wall with the OFA is foreshadowing the Joint Training Arc, which I hope to explore more than the manga did in its aftermath next chapter. Plus it gave him a reason to hang out with Tooru + Eri. I didn't want to immediately have her join the story as most fics did once the Overhaul Arc concluded. I felt once she was living at U.A. would be the best time to have her become a more significant part of the fic. And no, the couple isn't gonna become her "parents." These are teenagers remember. Plus between Aizawa and the Big Three, there are enough guardians for Eri as is. It's a familiar plot point I see, and it's usually not handled well. Still, expect her to pop her head from time to time during the third term!**

 **The second scene is more of an update on side stuff than anything. Don't expect Midoriya to confront Jiro until chapter 34, considering all the crazy things he is about to have. The 2nd joint class event I have planned will be a sweet "cool off" after the Joint Training arc, and will be quite a hefty chapter! It might happen as early as Chapter 34, but that depends on the conclusion of the current manga arc and the timeframe for the next one.**

 **Mina's scene sets up for her not to fade into the background after the conclusion of the second term. Imagine her as another Aoyama (in the sense of how he's been used in this story). Except she's more helpful (he tries his best though!). Plus as much as I stan IzuMina romantically, I thought it would be a unique challenge for myself to write them as platonic.**

 **For the Pro Hero Arc aftermath, I kept it short as since Izuku wasn't involved I felt I didn't need to go into great detail about it. Still, it deserved more than an "oh yeah, that happened" kind of moment.**

 **I did a minor update to some old chapters (25, 28, 30, and 31). It was an issue that my spot editor, Cleric of Nayru, brought up. And it involves using other languages. Obviously, since the characters are actually speaking Japanese, so when they are using said language, I have left it as is. But within the chapters I mentioned, I have used French (Aoyama) or Spanish/Portuguese/Latin (Ashido), and they should be italicized. I have only used italics to show some flashback dialogue so it's no issue adding it here in this case as it should be easy to tell the difference in usage.**

 **Chapter 33 will exclusively cover the aftermath of the Joint Training arc. From there, the story is at a halt. Just have to hope the Villain arc concludes by September so I can continue writing and have chapter 34 ready for October 1st. Either way, until September 1st for the next installment!**


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